Ratchet and Clank Future: Relativity
by Paul G
Summary: The story picks up where my previous fanfic, "Ratchet and Clank Future: Homecoming", left off. Ratchet and Clank return to the Apogee station and joined by Talwyn, Zephyr and Cronk, begin a search for Talwyn's father. Only to be interrupted along the way.
1. Disclaimers

**Disclaimers:**

Welcome to my second fanfic. Please, sit down, relax. Help yourself to a refreshing beverage from the fridge while you read about the ground rules... Most should already be somewhat familiar to you...

a) Ratchet, Clank, their entire universe and everything in it are copyright and trademark by Sony, Insomniac Games and High Impact Games and are used without permission in this story.

b) The term "manifestor" was coined by Hatoshi (a.k.a. Stephen Stryker). I have used the term, and the general concept behind the technology with his permission. Special thanks go out to him once again for getting me to actually write some of this stuff down in electrons rather than letting them decay into /dev/null.

c) Any other characters, constructs, devices, governmental agencies, plant life or social conventions that are in this story that are not the property of Sony, Insomniac Games, Inc. or Hatoshi are my own constructs. Personally, I can't see why anyone would ever really want to reuse them, but if you do you really should ask first. It's polite.

d) This story begins after the conclusion of Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction and my previous fanfic Ratchet & Clank Future: Homecoming. You should assume that if you read beyond this point, anything in any of the currently published and available Ratchet & Clank games may be used as reference or history, and you WILL be exposed to spoilers if you have not played them before.

Also, you will probably be mighty confused if you have not already read Homecoming. In fact, even if you have read it, you may want to read it again anyway - I have cleaned up a few glitches and the wording in the original text, and the events in Relativity continue from the events in Homecoming. You should check that out first to refresh your memory, just in case...

Required gaming includes Ratchet & Clank (R&C1), Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando (R&C2), Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal (R&C3), Ratchet: Deadlocked (R:DL), Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters (R&C:SM), Secret Agent Clank (SAC), Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools Of Destruction (R&CF:ToD). At the time this story was written (31 July 2008 -> 15 August 2008), Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest For Booty had not yet been released.

e) If the spoiler issue means anything to you, then you should go out, buy, play and enjoy all of the games listed above. I highly recommended them! (Shameless plug for IG and HIG)

f) This is NOT how I think the next episode of Ratchet & Clank Future will play out, nor do I think there are any real game playing possibilities in this plotline.

g) I strongly suspect that Quest For Booty will change the canon of the Ratchet & Clank Future series away from what I use in these stories. We will both have to live with it unfortunately; I am not going to go back and change the stories. (Han shot first!!)

h) I am not a professional writer, and I do not claim to be able to write either well or coherently. It is merely a minor amusement, a side story to while away the time... But I still reserve the right to continually tweak the text as I find errors or wrong words. You are hereby warned.

i) Enjoy!!

* * *


	2. Prologue

**Prologue: Hidden Agenda**

Petrov stood next to the window, his eyes closed against the sunlight streaming through the permasealed glass, the rays warming the golden fur of his face and muzzle. While he knew this wasn't the right time or place, he allowed himself a few seconds anyway to relax and enjoy the moment. It was _such_ a beautiful day outside; the sun shining clear in the azure sky, without a trace of moisture to be seen in the hot, dusty atmosphere... He wished he could open the window, just to breathe in the natural, unfiltered, unconditioned, unsterilized air from the lofty tower where he stood. But the window overlooking New Fastoon was secured against any intrusion, and not even a shot from his alpha cannon would be able to shatter it. Not that he had his alpha cannon with him anyway...

With a sigh, he turned away from the sunlight, back to the council chamber. Eight other lombaxes were seated around an ornately carved table made from a single large section of thorntree wood. It was inlaid with raritanium, trillium and crystal to give the impression of a starburst motif - the same design that had been on the floor in the Court of Azimuth, left behind over two decades ago. The eight other lombaxes waited; it was very rare that General Petrov Neutrino would call any kind of special council meeting, and most of them had originally entered the chamber torn between irritation at having to spend more than their required minimum of two hours per week in service and a burning curiosity to find out what he was up to. Now that the debate was over, they just wanted to conclude matters on get on with their day.

Petrov walked back to his empty place at the table. Before sitting down, he swung his right leg forward in a well practiced gesture. The ankle tracer bracelet he wore swung slightly on his boot, striking the chair leg with a significant amount of force. The tracer gave a brief alarm tone before going silent once more.

"I do not like them either," the rather formally dressed lombax next to him said testily. He glanced down at his own tracer, visible only as a bulge around his ankle just under the cuff of his impeccably pressed pinstripe slacks. "That does not mean you should try to smash it every chance you get. After all, it's your fault that we are forced to wear these things."

Petrov smiled at the lombax on his right, and answered him in a sarcastically jovial tone, "Spiff, it was your idea to haul me in to start with. And _you_ recommended the tracer, remember? If I have t' wear 'em, we all have t' wear 'em; that's the way it works." A few of the others around the table grumbled, some reaching down to rub their own ankles under the tracer bracelets. Given the glares shot in their direction, it was easy for Petrov to understand why all of the council members were forced to check their manifestors with the guards at the door - at least they were all equally unarmed!

The door opened briefly and one of the guards stuck his head through the opening to investigate the alarm. Looking at the assembled councilors, he noted that all of them still wore their tracers, that they were not violently assaulting each other (it had happened before...) and moved to turn away. The door opened a bit wider, and another lombax pushed his way in around the uniformed officer. The newcomer mumbled a quick greeting and said, "They're expecting me..." After moving into the chamber, the lombax closed the door on the guard and turned to face the assembled council.

He was wearing soiled work boots that were tracking dust, dirt and some form of mechanical lubricant on the plush maroon carpeting of the council chamber with his every step. His jeans were marked with a number of thruster burns and his bare chest was covered by a leather vest made from leviathan skin. A fine raritanium chain emerged from an unknown item tucked in his right vest pocket, hung limply, and was finally knotted around a metal ring sewn onto the vest. The lombax wore a matching leather helmet with metal studs and crystals in two parallel rows flanking a ridge of raised scales along its length. Reaching behind his back, the lombax opened a snap on his vest and allowed his tail to fall from its restraint. He then pulled a small chunk of raritanium alloy carved to look like a giant gear tooth from his left vest pocket. Turning it over and over in his gloved hand, he addressed the gathered council, "Hi. I take it I'm just in time for the vote?" His brown eyes twinkled with a bit of mirth.

Minister Spiff Gaiden sighed and began somewhat stiffly, "Mister Prime Minister, we have already deliberated on the matters at hand, but we can go over the minutes of the debate with you..."

"Right on time, Reg," Petrov interrupted. "We've been waiting fer ya fer the final votes." Petrov looked around the table at the other council members. "Let's get this over with so we can go home and enjoy the nice day... Agreed?" There were nods of ascent from the others around the table, and Spiff relented. Petrov looked at the display tablet in front of him and began the final proceedings.

"Item four zero three, paragraph 'a'... Those approving?" Around the table, all nine lombaxes raised their hands. Petrov looked at Spiff in surprise. "You, Spiff?? I'm shocked!" Spiff looked at Petrov with a wicked gleam in his eyes, "Anything to get you out of my fur for a while!" Petrov chuckled, "I'm touched... Thanks... Approved."

"Item four zero three, paragraph 'b'... Those approving?" Again, hands went up around the table. At least, eight of them did. Spiff shook his head and Petrov sighed. "Against?" Spiff's lone hand was raised, "Nobody is above the law." Petrov was not surprised by his colleague's reaction. "Yeah, but ya gotta admit there were special circumstances. Still... doesn't matter. Approved."

"Item four zero three, paragraph 'c'..." Petrov paused for a second, and his ears drooped slightly. Reg leaned forward, read the display tablet over Petrov's shoulder, shook his head and whistled softly. "Those approving?" Eight of the lombaxes raised their hands. Spiff was the only holdout, and he was looking angrily across the table to the lombax on Petrov's left. "Zeke, you know you are not allowed to vote on this item." Minister Zeke Wavelength, a rather old lombax adventurer with a significant amount of white, silver and grey in his fur nodded. "I know, Spiff. Just wanted everyone to know where I stood." He put his hand down. Petrov continued, "Against?" Spiff's hand went up again. When Petrov did not say anything immediately, Zeke's gaze met his eyes and he said, "Petrov, the vote is seven to one with one abstained." Petrov looked down at the table and sighed, "I know". In a formal, but slightly sad voice, he added, "Approved."

Reg leaned over Petrov's chair and whispered to him, "He's gonna skin you alive, and I won't stop him." Petrov nodded, and mumbled quietly, "Sacrifices have to be made..." Shaking his head, he looked at the list in front of him and slowly smiled, his ears perking back up. In a stronger, but slightly nervous voice, he continued with the last item on the agenda.

"Item four zero three, paragraph 'd'... Those approving?" Eight lombaxes around the table raised their hands very quickly. Spiff looked over to Reg, "You really should vote on this as well... for the record." Reg smiled and raised his hand. Spiff nodded and also lifted his hand high. Petrov was surprised that Spiff not only voted for approval, but that he had Reg vote too; it was a nice touch. "Unanimous _and_ ratified by the Prime Minister. Approved. Thank you, all!" Turning to Spiff, Petrov gave him an honest smile and shook his hand. "Seriously. Thanks. It really means a lot to me." Spiff looked down for a moment, and then met Petrov's eyes. In a quiet voice edged with a rare hint of emotion, he whispered, "I know."

Prime Minister Reginald Solstice began clapping, to be joined in by the other lombaxes around the table. Petrov looked over to Reg and grinned. "Thanks. This concludes this special meeting of the Lombax Central Council. Everyone is invited to Jacek's for lunch - on me, for a change."

* * *


	3. Chapter 01

**Chapter 1: Traveler's Tales**

"And so, Ratchet 'n Clank told Talwyn and her 'bots about their experiences on New Fastoon. They went into great detail about the things they learned, the friends they made and the wonders they saw! Our heroes went on t' describe a world very much like Fastoon itself; built from the remnants the surviving lombaxes took with them in their ill-fated attempt t' save Polaris from the wrath of Tachyon! All the while, Talwyn's gaze never moved from Ratchet's..."

"That's enough, Zephyr!" Talwyn said, rather abruptly and harshly.

"Right..." Zephyr relented from his narration and fell silent. Cronk leaned over and whispered loudly to Zephyr, "I think ya had it right on that one..." But he, too, fell silent after Talwyn glared at him. Ratchet glanced at her with a somewhat confused look on his face, but Clank looked at Zephyr and Cronk. He chuckled slightly and nodded. When Talwyn's eyes swung to Clank, Ratchet was shaken from his brief distraction and continued, "Well, that's pretty much it. The lombaxes built themselves a new home. We gave 'em the message and told 'em about Tachyon, but they're not comin' back for a while. And we're not welcome there, either. Not officially, anyway..." Ratchet looked down to the soil of the terrarium. Talwyn, Zephyr and Cronk had gathered there before their arrival, and had ambushed the pair before they had even had a chance to offload their weapons or Ratchet could pick up a flask of coffee from the dispenser. He already missed that sludge Petrov made, and hoped it was not addictive.

The return journey to the Apogee Station in the Nundac Asteroid Ring had been uneventful. Ratchet and Clank had given Aphelion only a very short summary of what had happened, saying they were okay and that it would be easier to go through the entire story once. At the time, Ratchet was still in a rather distracted mood, thinking back to Reg, Petrov, Doc T and the council. Clank was replaying the events of their journey in his neural network, taking a particular satisfaction in the destruction of the BetaTex crystal inside the Court of Azimuth. But, as promised, Clank kept a frequency open so that Aphelion could listen in throughout their retelling.

"New Fastoon reminds me very much of what I remember of the original. From what you have described, it must be lovely flying." Aphelion's voice rang over the comm system. "I wish you had played the holovid on the way here, though. An in-flight movie would have been both entertaining and educational."

The mention of the holovid snapped Ratchet from his distraction. "Well, this way you can all see it together. Talwyn, why don'tcha play the holovid on Aphelion's display system? I need a bit o' sleep; it's been a rough couple o' days, 'n I'm beat."

Talwyn and Clank both looked at Ratchet. Clank could tell that Ratchet was tired, but he had actually slept very well the previous night, thanks to the suggestion placed in his mind by the BetaTex. But there was something else in his eyes - a weariness that extended beyond the physical exertion he had been through. A great deal had happened to him on New Fastoon, and it was evident on his friend's face.

Talwyn also saw the strain there. "Are you sure you're all right? You've been through a lot. Maybe we should grab something to eat..."

Ratchet looked up from the ground at his feet. He could see the concern in their eyes. But this was something that he just needed time to deal with. "No. I'll be fine. Check out that vid. I'm sure it'll fill in some o' the gaps in your father's research." He manifested the holovid and held it out to her. "There's a lotta good stuff in there."

Talwyn took it and glanced at the label. Her eyes widened, and she began to talk very excitedly. "So the lombaxes _were_ behind the compendium! Or at least recreated it in Leonid. And details about Azimuth!" She opened the case and stared at the media, distracted.

Ratchet's ears drooped slightly at her words. Cronk noticed and said, "We cleaned out the guestroom for ya. You two young'uns can get some zeds there." Ratchet looked up at Cronk and said, "Thanks. That's great. Where is it?" Cronk pointed up towards the main control chamber. "Through the main corridor, off t' the right. I'll join ya in a few ticks t' git y'both settled."

Ratchet and Clank started up the walkway that led to the control room. Behind them, they could hear Cronk say to Zephyr, "Git the popcorn, and don't start 'til I git there..."

* * *

Ratchet and Clank followed the directions provided to them by Cronk, and came to a pneumatic door. There were a number of small graphics adhered the surface, including signs like 'danger', 'keep out', 'high voltage' and 'explosive'. In a prominent spot in the very center was a single word written in lombax. Ratchet shook his head and looked down at Clank. Clank met Ratchet's gaze and answered his unspoken question, "It says 'Talwyn'. This must have been her bedroom as a child when her father was still living in the station." Ratchet groaned. "Perfect... It's probably all pink and poofy." He touched the actuator and the door opened with a hiss.

Inside was far different from Ratchet's prediction. If anything, the little girl's room he was expecting was more of a monument to lombax geography than anything remotely 'pink'. The carpeting was a sandy shade matching the dry soil of Fastoon. The walls and ceiling were display panels that simulated the dusty landscape and noon skies of his newly discovered home world, complete with representations of thorntrees in bloom, their spikes a vibrant red. There was a rather functional but sturdy bed, with a desk, chair and side table. To one side of the bed were a pair of charging stations, each complete with both power and hyperband feeds. On the other side of the bed was an open door that led to a small bathroom. Clank chuckled, "Pink and poofy?" Ratchet grinned, "Okay. I was wrong."

Ratchet sat in the desk chair and took off his boots. The carpeting was thick and felt good under his feet. The desk in front of him was bare except for an undersized display tablet (with a 'biohazard' graphic adhered to the back) and stylus. Turning it on, he saw that it booted into the last program used: a practice pad, with words written in both lombax and standard characters. Among them, he saw Talwyn's name repeated multiple times, as though she had been practicing. But the writing was a bit rough and simplistic, as though written by a young child. He grinned at the thought of the little girl in the photograph Talwyn showed him of her father, sitting here and tracing the letters of a long vanished language. Well, maybe not quite as long vanished as they thought at the time.

Cronk peeked his head into the room. "Everythin' okay in here? Anythin' ya need?" Ratchet shook his head, but Clank responded, "Is there a control for the display units available? While daylight would not affect my recharge cycle, it might prove to be too bright for Ratchet to sleep." Ratchet looked up at the ceiling, with the 'sun' still hanging in the 'sky'. While it was not a blinding brilliance, it would make falling asleep a little more challenging; not much, though... Cronk moved to a control unit built into the wall next to the door. He tapped on a tiny display that was flashing 12:00, punched a few buttons and twisted the knob; the sun set in a fraction of a second, filling the room with a momentarily rose colored glow, followed by a dark night sky. On the ceiling, several constellations were visible that Ratchet recognized from his time on Fastoon. "The clock was stuck. Ya should be set. Clank, there's a pair o' rechargers there; not sure what kinda power ya like, so ya have yer choice. The hyperband feed's a raritanium package deal - ya got high bandwidth plus data on demand, right down t' the latest Lance 'n Janice. Gimme a holler if ya need anythin'. G'night." With that, Cronk left the room and the door slid shut with a slight hiss.

In the room now only dimly lit by the starlight from the ceiling, Ratchet switched off the control pad and moved to sit on the bed. Wedging the pillow behind his back, he sat there for a while, just looking around the room. Clank moved over to the recharging units, read the specifications and gave a brief "oooh" before plugging one of the leads into a receptacle behind his radiator grill. He looked over to Ratchet. "Is there something wrong, Ratchet? I know that you are tired, but there seems to be something else that is bothering you."

"I'm okay, Clank; just tired. And... well... I just don't wanna be there when they see the vid. It was hard enough once; I'm not ready for a repeat." He looked around the room and sighed. It also looked like New Fastoon; at least, Azimuth Park. Ratchet stood, removed his flight suit, threw it over the chair, and climbed into the bed. He lay there for a while, staring up at the simulated stars. Eventually, he said "G'night, Clank," rolled over and slowly fell asleep.

When Clank heard Ratchet finally begin to snore, he was able to relax himself. He knew that something else was bothering Ratchet, but he was not sure what it was. And while he understood why his friend would not want to be exposed to a replay of the holovid, this did not fully explain his behavior. But he knew he would understand... eventually. Hooking up the hyperband connection, Clank settled in for a full charge, a backup and perhaps a media downlink from the Million Marquee Matrix. But first, he wanted to get a little advice, and perhaps a different perspective on the matter. Clank initiated a long distance data link. It took a moment to establish, but finally he was online. Through the active channel, Clank transmitted, "Hi, mom!"

* * *

The room was still dark, and the artificial stars shone brightly on the ceiling display when Ratchet woke. Given the darkness in the surrounding walls, he guessed that he had at least a few hours before 'dawn'. Turning in the bed, he tried to fall back to sleep again. But no matter how much he tossed, he could not relax. His mind was filled with a jumble of different thoughts and emotions - but fragments only; pieces that no matter how hard he tried, he could not fit together. And the more he tried, the worse it got.

Turning over yet again, he gave up on sleep and quietly watched Clank for a while. The little robot's optical scanners were inactive and dark, but Ratchet could see data traffic on the hyperband feed. Then Ratchet sat up in the bed and grabbed the display tablet from the desk. Turning it on, it returned once again to the practice pad software that a much younger Talwyn had been using to learn lombax. Flipping backward through the virtual pages, he found the text somehow comforting; especially seeing the two versions of the simple words side by side. Turning all the way back to the first lesson, the tutorial asked if he wanted to restart the course. With a moment's hesitation, he touched 'yes', and was prompted to enter his name. Using the stylus, he entered R-A-T-C-H-E-T. As he did so, the corresponding lombax symbols appeared above the standard letters. Ratchet smiled as his name (written in both lombax and standard) moved to a header bar and the first lesson loaded.

* * *

When morning finally came, the 'sun' crept over the 'horizon' at the foot of Ratchet's bed. The lombax had finally relaxed after a few of the practice lessons and eventually drifted back to sleep. Now the sunlight was a rather rude intrusion into his eyes, and a not so gentle reminder that he had a lot to do today. Sitting up in the bed, he looked over to Clank and said, "G'morning. Didya sleep well?"

Clank's sensors reactivated, and he chuckled slightly. "Of course, you are fully aware that I do not 'sleep' as you do. But I did have a very restful evening, thank you." Ratchet grinned and climbed out of bed. He stretched luxuriously, retrieved a travel kit from his manifestor and carried it into the small bathroom, closing the door behind him. Clank scanned the room and noticed that the display panel that had been on the desk was missing. Obviously, Ratchet had borrowed it, but he was unsure of his friend's motives. Clank signed off the hyperband link and disconnected the feeds.

Ratchet eventually emerged from the bathroom, his fur brushed and fluffed. He quickly dressed into his flight suit and gloves, returned his travel kit to the manifestor and carefully remade the bed. Once the room was in an orderly state, Ratchet asked, "Wanna go down to the landing pad with me and check in with Aphelion? I wanna see what she remembers about Fastoon." Clank nodded, and the two of them left the bedroom.

They made their way back to the main terrarium. It was there that Clank noticed something else unusual. "Ratchet, have you noticed that Captain Qwark and Rusty Pete are both missing?" Ratchet glanced around them, as though expecting the pair to teleport in at the mention of their names. "Yeah... you're right. And I didn't see 'em last night, either." Ratchet chuckled, "D'ya think Talwyn threw 'em out the airlock?" He was only joking, but he had almost suffered that very fate when they first met. "Maybe they made one 'saucy wench' comment too many..."

"Not you, too!" Talwyn had entered the terrarium behind Ratchet and Clank, just as the 'inappropriate slur' was uttered. Clank watched as Ratchet brightened a bit in infrared, and thought to himself that his friend was blushing under his fur. "We were just discussing that both Rusty Pete and Captain Qwark appear to be missing," Clank responded. Ratchet recovered quickly, "Yeah, it's been real quiet, and no talk of grog. Arrrr..."

Talwyn grimaced slightly. "They were drivin' me nuts! While you two were wandering around New Fastoon, I was stuck here listening to Pete put Qwark through Pirate 101. I sent them to Kreeli to help hold the comet against drophyd attack." Ratchet looked up quickly. "Is IRIS in danger?" Talwyn smiled and shook her head. "No. As far as I know, the drophyds don't even know IRIS exists. But they didn't know that. Pete was grateful, actually; I think he wanted more grog. And Qwark just saw it as a field trip to a real pirate base." Ratchet couldn't help it; he started to laugh. "Would Captain Qwark be in any danger from the pirates on Kreeli?" Clank asked, concerned. "Probably not as long as Pete's with 'm," Ratchet replied, still laughing a bit. "But we'll check in with 'em later, just to make sure."

Talwyn grew very serious and sat down on a grassy step. "Ratchet, I just wanted you to know, I'm sorry. About the holovid." Ratchet stopped laughing and sat down next to her. Clank stood next to Ratchet. "My father and I've been to so many lombax ruins, trying to recover some of the history Tachyon destroyed. He'd tell me stories about the Lombax Secret, and the wonders your people built. They were such wonderful stories. But then he disappeared. When you showed up, I finally knew it was all real. I wanted to know more. I wanted..." She broke off for a moment, her voice choked by emotion. "But the vid reminded me why your people left in the first place. It finally hit me what it must've cost them." Looking into Ratchet's eyes, she continued, "What it cost you." Ratchet put his arm around her shoulder. "I... I just want t' say..."

The door to the terrarium opened, and the two warbots entered. Zephyr and Cronk were having a mock sword fight; Zephyr was armed with a dripping kitchen ladle, while Cronk wielded a spatula. Their noisy clatter came to an abrupt halt as Zephyr saw Ratchet with his arm around Talwyn's shoulder. "Unhand her, you scoundrel!" Ratchet arm quickly fell to his side as Zephyr moved forward with the ladle extended in front of him as a weapon. Ratchet watched something drip from the end of it - it looked vaguely like some kind of batter. "I didn't...! I wasn't...! I..." He looked at Talwyn, and saw a hint of a smile on her face. Some hero - backing down from a loaded ladle! "It's okay, Zephyr," Talwyn said with a slight chuckle. "I approve." Zephyr froze. Another drop of batter dripped to the grass. "Oh... All righty... Uh... Carry on, then." He started to back away.

Talwyn's eyes were drawn to the ladle. "What did you make for breakfast?" Looking over to Ratchet, she added, "I really don't cook all that much, but Zephyr's great in the kitchen." Zephyr straightened himself up proudly and was about to answer when Cronk added, "As long as the durn fool makes sure the ingredients ain't toxic!" "Hey! It only happened twice, 'n I caught it in time!" "Durn near killed Miss Talwyn." "But it didn't. I'm gettin' better." "Yeah, right." "Really! How're y' supposed t' properly season it y' can't use isotopes!" "Maybe if you'd check yer scanners, y' might not need t' cover the flavor." "I will not be spoken to like that! En guard!" Zephyr swung the ladle, spreading droplets of batter in a wide arc landing on everyone and everything in their path. The two warbots continued to battle, eventually moving their way back out the terrarium door. Clank reached up and wiped the droplet that had landed on his head with his finger. He scanned it. "I believe we are having waffles."

* * *


	4. Chapter 02

**Chapter 2: Nothing Is Easy**

After breakfast (rather, uh, 'creative' waffles with flavored glucose syrup) was finished, discussion moved on to a more serious topic. Ratchet and Clank had promised to help Talwyn look for her father, and they now had the equipment to do so. Ratchet manifested the door glove, and explained how it functioned as a dimensionator. "So that's how we got home. I just thought about the Court of Azimuth, the crystal turned green, 'n I fired. If you're wearin' the glove and cap, maybe you could open a portal t' your father."

Talwyn was unconvinced. "That sounds way too easy. But, we can try it."

They left the cramped kitchen area and went into the terrarium where they had more space. Ratchet removed the door glove and handed it to Talwyn. She put it into her manifestor and selected it. Very reluctantly, Ratchet removed the leather cap that Reg had given him. "Please be careful with this. It's kinda sensitive."

Talwyn looked at Ratchet critically. "You know, I've never seen you without some kind of helmet before. You're gettin' a little grey up there." Ratchet's ears sagged. Talwyn quickly added, "No, it looks good! Really!" Ratchet looked over to Clank. "Am I? Really?" Clank could easily see ten grey hairs among the fur, more than he did the previous time he had seen Ratchet's bare head. When Clank did not reply immediately, Ratchet's ears sunk even lower. "There, there," Talwyn said in a somewhat soothing, somewhat mocking tone. She reached up and scratched the fur on the top of his head. "It's okay... It happens to everyone... eventually..." Ratchet gave a low growl, manifested his original cap and practically slammed it on top of his head. "Can we just focus, please? You need to concentrate!" Talwyn jokingly tried to calm Ratchet down, "Okay... okay... Relax..."

Talwyn took Reg's cap and placed it on top of her head. "It's a little big," she noted. That made Ratchet feel a bit better. He grinned, "Yeah, on me too. One o' these days, I need t' see a friend o' mine about that. He might be able t' copy the technology t' my own cap." Talwyn grinned and her eyes unfocused for a moment. The door glove was replaced with her blaster. She leveled it at Ratchet and smiled. Ratchet held his breath - this was _not_ what he had in mind. But the blaster vanished from her hand and the door glove returned. "Just testing," Talwyn said. "Do you think your friend can make me one, too? This is really pretty neat." Ratchet let go of the held breath with a sudden 'whoosh' and tried to force his voice into a calmer tone. "I can ask. Please don't do that again! Now, close your eyes. Concentrate on your father. Picture him in your mind."

Talwyn closed her eyes. Ratchet was watching the targeting crystal on the glove, but it remained red. "Do you have him pictured in your mind?" Ratchet asked. "Yes," Talwyn said. Ratchet's eyes narrowed. "Hmm... Try to imagine him speaking to you, his voice. See him standing in front of you, calling to you." "Okay..." The crystal remained red. "Are you sure?"

"Dammit, Ratchet, yes!" Talwyn's eyes flew open. "It's not working!" Ratchet could see how frustrated she was. "Please, just calm down..." The door glove on Talwyn's hand became a bomb glove. Ratchet had used this weapon a lot in the past, but had never seen her use one before; she must have had it in her manifestor, though. Without thinking, she threw a bomb across the lawn. "Down!" Ratchet shouted, grabbing at Talwyn and knocking them both off their feet. There was a clatter of metal as Clank and the warbots dove to the ground, followed by a small explosion. The bomb was not strong enough to cause any serious damage, but it was enough to leave a small blast mark on the soil. Ratchet thought to himself that the glove was probably not used very much since it was never upgraded.

The impact and concussion were enough to snap Talwyn from her anger. The bomb glove returned to her manifestor; she got up quickly with a rather embarrassed look on her face. "Sorry about that. I guess you really have to watch your temper when you wear that thing." Ratchet was already up too, and was helping Zephyr to his feet, "Yeah. I know." Talwyn helped Cronk stand, sat down on the grass and began to cry softly. "Maybe he is dead," she said in a voice scarcely above a whisper. "That would explain why I couldn't get a lock on him." Zephyr and Cronk looked at each other and lowered their heads.

Ratchet tried to find another explanation, "Maybe the sensors won't work for you..." But then he looked at the smoking grass in front of them; it had worked perfectly well. Clank had another possibility. "Perhaps the door glove will not lock on to a single person in that manner. Perhaps Ratchet should try to lock on to another individual."

It made sense. Ratchet took the door glove and neural matrix cap, hastily swapping caps to leave his head exposed for a minimum amount of time. After everything was in place, he said, "I'm gonna try for Petrov."

Clank hastily warned his friend, "Ratchet, be careful: do not fire the glove! Based on our recent visit, I am certain that the council has increased their surveillance. Opening a portal to New Fastoon may have drastic repercussions for both Petrov and ourselves."

"Right. No need t' make things worse." Ratchet imagined Petrov in his mind: the lombax's graying fur (just what Ratchet wanted to think about right now...), his huge size, the camouflage uniform, his somewhat warped sense of humor and fondness for good food, his changeable eyes, 'Tiny'... The crystal on the glove turned green, and Ratchet immediately wiped the image from his mind, trying to make his mind as blank as possible. The lock was dropped, and the green crystal turned red. "Well, it worked..."

Clank thought for a second. "But there is another variable to consider: Petrov is in another dimension. Perhaps that is why you were able to succeed."

Ratchet nodded. "I'll try for Al. If I get the lock, I'll open a portal and bring him over." Ratchet pictured Al: geeky, overweight, wearing the same lab coat that he was wearing when they first met, the tools in his pocket, the somewhat wild hair, the implants... The crystal remained red. Ratchet continued, this time, focusing on Al's shop as well. But no matter how much detail he was able to bring into the picture, the target crystal could not get a lock. Finally, he shook his head and put the door glove back into his manifestor.

"That was it, Clank. Al's local 'n I can't get a lock." Ratchet let it go at that, but Talwyn voiced his other thought for him, "Assuming my father's alive, that is. Could we go to another dimension and bridge back?"

Ratchet nodded, "Maybe, but where? We can't go to the lombax dimension, and I don't wanna think about X2-49..."

Clank nodded. "I do not believe that we will be able to use the dimensionator for this purpose. Even if we could go to a 'bridge' dimension, there is no certainty that a portal would open in the desired location. We might return to our point of departure, as we did in the Court of Azimuth."

Ratchet and Talwyn both nodded. Ratchet said, "Looks like we're gonna hafta do this the hard way..."

* * *

"Well, we know he was headed for Kerchu City," Ratchet said. "IRIS said he moved the dimensionator there. But where'd he go next?" They had spent a great deal of time exchanging stories and all of the details about what they knew of Max Apogee and his last known journey. In doing so, a pattern seemed to emerge.

"I know my father was obsessed with the Lombax Secret. He treasured that artifact. I know it had 'map' written on it, but I never saw it work until you touched it. When it was stolen by pirates, he left. He never said where he went; I always thought he went after the pirates. But if he went directly to Rykan V..."

"Yeah, but it took all of us doin' deep scans t' find the bunker. When we got there, we couldn't get in 'til I touched the door." Ratchet was trying to work out the details. "How'd he know the dimensionator was on Sargasso if he didn't get in the bunker?"

"What I find most interesting," Clank said, "is that IRIS has declared Mr. Apogee as 'missing'. If she has the ability to scan multiple dimensions and can respond to queries about the cragmites, why is she not able to report on Mr. Apogee?"

Both Ratchet and Talwyn fell silent. That was a good question. "You're right, Clank!" Ratchet began. "IRIS wasn't able to find Max, or info about the lombaxes. It's like her memory was wiped."

Ratchet's voice trailed off as he thought about the implications of that, but Talwyn continued, following his line of thought, "Ratchet, didn't you say that your father was given overrides for IRIS? Wasn't he supposed to erase references to the dimensionator and New Fastoon?"

Ratchet looked at her, "Yeah. Do ya suppose your father 'n mine were working together?"

Talwyn met his gaze. "I guess it's possible. He never mentioned meeting a live lombax, though. But it would explain the map and the bunker..."

"Well, if he was with my father, he wouldn't've needed 'em; they'd've had the dimensionator with 'em. My father must've either given Max the dimensionator t' hide, or helped him access the map and bunker. Either way, they must've been together..." Ratchet stood and began pacing. "Aphelion wasn't much help. She didn't even remember the photo." Ratchet's ears drooped slightly as he said it. He had hoped that she might have some memory of the Keeper, or at least know his name. But she could only remember up to just before she was shot down, and Ratchet wondered if that was because of damage, or if something else was involved. "It keeps comin' back t' IRIS," Ratchet finally said. "There hasta be a connection."

"Perhaps we should just ask her," Clank said.

"That'd be too easy!" Zephyr protested.

"Take all the fun outta life," Cronk added.

* * *

"Why aren't they answering?" Talwyn was getting frustrated. She had been trying to reach Pete and Qwark on the Kreeli Comet for nearly an hour.

"Maybe they went out for a bit o' grog?" Ratchet joked in reply, only to get an icy glare from Talwyn in return. "Okay, okay... Maybe not. Let's just go. We won't need Pete t' get passed the pirates." Ratchet's combustor manifested in his hand at the thought of possible action.

"Put that thing away!" Talwyn ordered, and the combustor immediately vanished from Ratchet's hand. Clank looked on in amusement, chuckling at the speed of Ratchet's reaction. "One of these days, you're gonna have to get me one o' those."

"When we get a chance, I'll drop by Al's 'n see what he can do. He's a little outta the way, though." Ratchet adjusted Reg's cap on his head; it was still too big and was a little uncomfortable - he could feel the raritanium wires and sensors through his fur. "Plus, I wanna show him the vid. Let's see what IRIS knows. I don't know where Qwark and Pete went, but we'll deal with that later."

Talwyn nodded. Activating a comm link, she said, "Cronk, Zephyr, we're going on a little field trip. Prepare the shuttle and set the station's defenses to automatic." They replied in unison, "Yes, Miss Talwyn."

"Clank and I'll take Aphelion 'n meet you there," Ratchet said. "We'll clear the landing pads 'n make sure there're no pirates."

"Perhaps we may be able to ascertain what happened to Captain Qwark and Pete," Clank offered.

"Yeah, that too," Ratchet replied, somewhat heavily.

Clank jumped up onto the connecting bolt attached to the backpack straps that Ratchet wore over his flight suit and sealed the link. "Clank, doesn't it bother you; travelling backwards all the time?" Talwyn asked. Clank shook his head and replied, "My sensors are accurate for a full three hundred sixty degrees. It is not disorienting." Talwyn nodded.

Ratchet stepped onto the teleporter pad. As the scanner arms shot up around them, Ratchet thought of Petrov and said to Clank, "Thanks for watchin' my back..."

They materialized in the landing bay, and quickly made their way to Aphelion. Clank hopped in quickly, but Ratchet paused. His gloved hand slowly traced the lombax characters along the canopy. He knew it said 'Aphelion', but he was starting to recognize the symbols. He might not be able to read it yet, but at least they were familiar now. With a smile, he leapt into the pilot's seat, fastened his harness and closed the canopy.

Aphelion and Clank had both noticed his delay. But Aphelion also felt his glove. "Ratchet, did you notice any problem along the hull? My sensors do not detect anything amiss."

Ratchet shook his head. "No. Just admiring your lines..."

Aphelion gave a warm chuckle. "I bet you say that to all the ships..." Ratchet grinned and took the controls. Bringing the main thrusters online, he pulled off the small landing pad and cleared the surface. Ratchet slowly maneuvered the ship through the asteroids until they came at last to open space. He set a course for the Kreeli Comet and opened a wormhole.

Ratchet was a little uneasy, though. There was something wrong, or at least, out of place. There was a strange odor in the cockpit. It was somewhat familiar, but he could not place it. "Aphelion, what's that smell?"

She gave a disgusted grunt. "Take a look in the rear compartment." Ratchet turned. Wedged between a storage locker and the hull was a small, open box that Ratchet did not recognize. He put Aphelion on autopilot, twisted around against the harness and pulled the box loose. Ratchet looked inside. It was a half-empty box of popcorn... He sighed and wedged the box between his own seat and the hull - he would dispose of it when they arrived.

"I was thinking about the questions you asked earlier." Aphelion said in a sad voice. "I am sorry, but I do not remember anything else. I know that was a photograph of myself, but I have no recollection of it, or of the pilot."

"That's okay. We'll figure it out. Maybe IRIS will know." Ratchet absentmindedly reached around to his left, grabbed a few kernels from the open box and ate them. Clank turned towards him, his jaw dropping and his eyes widening slightly in horror. "What?" Ratchet asked around a mouthful of salty, stale popcorn.

By the time they had reached the comet, the box was empty except for a few unexploded husks at the bottom of the box. Ratchet guided the ship down onto the landing pad near the pirate ship where they had landed previously. Opening the hatch, he and Clank climbed out of Aphelion and stood on the icy surface of the comet. Other than Ratchet's breathing, there was silence. "Where're Pete and Qwark?" Ratchet mumbled. Something did not feel right.

Ratchet manifested his terraflux armor and changed into it, putting his flight suit into the storage crystal. He topped off his ammunition supply at the GrummelNet vendor, whose voice echoed in the strange stillness, and held his omniwrench ready. It may not be the most appropriate weapon, but its heft was still very comforting. Clank latched on to the connector bolt and enabled his thruster pack upgrade, just in case. Slowly moving down the slope, they came to a cauldron set over a glowing fire. Clank's eyes were drawn to the flames, but it just was not the same - the artificial fuel that drove the blaze beneath the cauldron was too regular to be of much amusement. Ratchet crumpled the empty popcorn box into a tight ball and tossed it onto the fire. There was still no sign of anyone; the area appeared abandoned. "We'd better check with IRIS, find out what's goin' on."

They went back up the slope to Aphelion. "Ratchet, is something wrong?" she asked with some concern in her voice.

"I'm not sure. It's too quiet. There's no sign of Qwark or Pete, and there're no pirates anywhere. Open a frequency to Talwyn." There was gentle warning tone. "Talwyn? Ratchet. We're at the comet, but the place is deserted. Something's wrong."

Talwyn's voice came from the open cockpit of Aphelion. "Ratchet, we were just about to take off. We'll be there in a little while."

"No!" Ratchet practically shouted. "We're not in danger, but it's too quiet. It feels like a trap. Stay there 'n keep tryin' to get Qwark. We're gonna try teleporting to IRIS 'n find out what's goin' on. We'll advise as soon as we know. Ratchet, out."

"I believe that Talwyn will be quite upset with you when we return to the station," Clank observed.

"Probably," Ratchet replied. "But I'd rather find out it's a trap _before_ she gets here." Looking at the ground next to Aphelion, Ratchet's eyes unfocused briefly. A teleporter pad appeared, and Ratchet gave a small smile. "I gotta thank Reg if we see him again." Clank took notice of his friend's use of 'if' and not 'when', but chose not to comment. Ratchet stepped onto the pad and the scanning arms shot upward.

* * *

Ratchet and Clank materialized near the entrance to IRIS. Walking slowly along the path, the pair kept a very careful watch for any threats. But the strange silence that had set them both on edge (Ratchet especially) was evident here, too. The only sound was the crunch of Ratchet's boots on the frosted ground and his rhythmic breathing in the cold air.

They came up to the dark opening. Walking inside, they noticed that there were no lights of any kind on the displays. "Ratchet, the door is not closing behind us." Ratchet spun and saw the portal was still open. This had not happened on any of their other visits. Clank disconnected from the backpack and dropped to the ground. The sudden clatter of Clank's metallic feet on the floor caused Ratchet to spin yet again, the omniwrench in his hand ready to strike. Seeing Clank, the lombax relaxed. "Sorry about that, Clank," Ratchet said. "This place gives me the creeps."

They walked to the voice activated console of IRIS. All of the screens remained completely blank, and the normally illuminated ring around the console was dark. Ratchet looked around, but could not see any sign of a switch or control. Clank also searched, and then said, "Ratchet, over here." Clank pointed out a small red light, barely a single millicubit in diameter. Beneath it was a data entry port and cable, very similar in construction to a hyperband link, with a compatible connector. "Hmmm. Perhaps I can tap directly into IRIS's system from this point."

Ratchet was concerned. "You sure that's a good idea? We don't know what's goin' on." But by the time he had spoken, Clank had already picked up the cable and connected himself to the port. There was a brief flicker of data transfer before Clank shook his head and disconnected himself.

"It is worse than I feared. Ratchet, the power generation systems in the core of the comet are not functional. IRIS has shut herself down to preserve her systems. The primary power cells are completely drained. We need to repair the generation systems and restore IRIS."

Ratchet was stunned. But that also explained the eerie silence that had been bothering him. With all of his travels and space flight, he was so used to some form of power generation, environmental control or background hum that he no longer noticed it; except when it was either off pitch or missing. "What happened?"

Clank shook his head. "There was no other information other than the fault indicators for the generation system and the battery indicators. But we must act. If the emergency batteries fail, IRIS will terminate."

* * *


	5. Chapter 03

**Chapter 3: Tech Support**

Terminate. The word echoed in Ratchet's brain. The robotic word for death. Not only would IRIS be lost to the entire galaxy forever (an indescribable loss!), all of the answers that he was seeking would die with her. "What can we do? How much time do we have?"

Clank did a few calculations. "The emergency batteries are being depleted slowly. At the present rate of consumption, they will reach zero percent in approximately two days. After that point, IRIS will begin to lose data and it will be a matter of probability as to what information is lost and if it is critical to her operation. If we succeed in getting the generator back online, it should automatically recharge the emergency batteries first, and then move to the primary cells."

"Do ya know where the generator is?" Ratchet asked, looking at the various components and monitors surrounding the primary console.

"Yes. In our initial encounter with IRIS, I needed to repair the central processor. During my journey, I passed numerous power couplings. They should lead to the generation station. I will enter IRIS and attempt the repairs." Clank moved toward the console and prepared to climb into the conduit deeper into IRIS.

"I'll tell Talwyn what's going on," Ratchet said. He moved to the doorway and contacted his ship. "Aphelion, open a channel to Talwyn..."

* * *

Clank was right - Talwyn was _not_ happy with being cut off like that. But she did agree that it was pointless for her to make the trip at this point, at least not until IRIS was back online. "Still no word from Qwark or Pete. But I've been hearing rumors the pirates and drophyds are fighting each other. Nothing concrete, but I'll let you know."

"Okay. I'm gonna stay with Clank and try t' get IRIS working. Thanks! Ratchet, out." Turning his attention to Aphelion, he offered her thanks as well, and sat down in the doorway, his back against the door so he could keep watch for both Clank and for potential intruders. After a while, he became bored and retrieved Talwyn's practice tablet. Turning it on, he moved to the next lesson.

A few hours (and a few lessons) later, he began to hear noises from inside IRIS. He paused the lesson, shut down the pad, returned it to his manifestor and moved to investigate. From the opening next to the console, Clank emerged. He looked severely drained, and there were a few scuff marks on his chassis that had not been there before. "Are you all right? You look beat!"

"I appreciate your concern, but I am fine, Ratchet. Although I must admit that the task was much more difficult than I anticipated. I was able to locate multiple power generation systems. They appear to be similar in design to the sigma three unit that generates power for the Apogee Station. While all of them appear to be operational, their power couplings are no longer feeding into the main distribution center. I was unable to repair them."

"Take a break. I'll grab a nanotech crate." Clank lowered himself to sit down with his back against the console. Ratchet drew his combustor and made his way up the pathway. Again, he encountered no sign of life, organic or robotic. But he did find two undamaged cases of nanotech. Very carefully, he picked them up and carried them slowly down the path and into IRIS. Ratchet lowered the fragile glass crates to the floor. "Clank, you'll have to break 'em open. Do ya want my combustor?"

Clank slowly climbed to his feet. "That will not be necessary." Clank assumed his 'Clank-fu' stance, made popular on the Secret Agent Clank holovids. He swung his hand through the glass and shattered the crates. The nanotech swarmed into him, and his sensors immediately brightened. "Thank you, Ratchet."

"Anytime. Any idea what happened, or how to fix it?"

"It appears as though the core of each generator is still intact. There is no immediate danger of a singularity escaping. The power couplings leading from the generators to the distribution panel have been disconnected, however. I was unable to reattach them."

Ratchet interrupted, "Well, if it's just reconnecting cables, that sounds easy enough." He swung his omniwrench for emphasis. "Any idea what caused it?"

"I discovered the bodies of eight drophyds during my journey. Their life support hydrospheres had been shattered, and they appear to have been electrocuted. I suspect that they entered IRIS using the same access panel that I did and sabotaged the power couplings in an attempt to destroy her. As for repairing the couplings, it will not be possible for you to reach the generators. The openings are too small, and there is no other access point. Even I had a great deal of difficulty getting to them."

Ratchet shook his head. Damn fish! The last remnants of Tachyon's empire still haunted him even after Percival was dead. "I'm not givin' up that easy. Gimme a minute..." Ratchet's eyes unfocused as he began to mentally search through his manifestor. There had to be a way... "YES!!" He pumped his left fist as a small device with an antenna appeared in his right hand. It looked suspiciously like a holovid remote control. "Clank, can you carry me to the generators?" He held the device up so that Clank could see it; it was the shrink ray that he had won from the skyboarder on Kalidon. Clank smiled and nodded.

Ratchet pointed the device at his own head. "Let's get shrinkin'," he said as he pressed the button. Soon, he was reduced to a mere centicubit in height. Looking up at the giant Clank in front of him, he shouted, "Can ya give me a lift?"

Clank smiled. "There is no need for you to raise your voice. I can hear you perfectly." He lowered his hand and Ratchet climbed onto his palm. "There are certain points in our journey where I will require both of my hands free." Ratchet nodded. He had ridden on Clank's back previously when his friend had enlarged himself for various reasons. There were a series of small ridges and grips that he could hold on to. Clank lifted his hand carefully to his shoulders and Ratchet leapt onto Clank's back. Finding a secure perch, he knocked twice on Clank's metal back, the sound reverberating in the stillness. Clank proceeded into the conduit once more.

This was the first time that Ratchet had ever seen the interior of IRIS, and he was extremely impressed. Ratchet was naturally curious to begin with and the inner workings and micromachinery they encountered teased his lombax nature. As they proceeded, he pestered Clank with a stream of questions, inquiring what the various components were, what their function was and how they interrelated with each other. Clank answered to the best of his ability, but many of the components were beyond his level of understanding as well.

Eventually, the pair reached the power generators. Or, more precisely, the power conversion units attached to the generators. The huge generators appeared to be located all around them: above, beneath and to either side. In front of them was the main panel that balanced the energy from the massive sigma three units and distributed it throughout IRIS and the comet. From his vantage point on Clank's back, Ratchet could see the bodies of the drophyds, destroyed in their all-too-successful attempt to incapacitate IRIS. The four generators all appeared to be functioning, with their cores still containing the balanced quantum singularity that provided power. But the cables that redirected that power to other parts of IRIS were disconnected. Looking around the space, there was barely room for Clank to move, let alone reach the connectors.

"Clank, help me down. I'm gonna have t' shrink you first t' make space, and then grow myself." Clank reached up and Ratchet climbed onto his hand. He placed Ratchet gently on the ground. Once there, Ratchet manifested the shrink ray. "Here we go..." Ratchet fired the device, and reduced Clank to his current height. "Okay. Hold still." Ratchet pointed the shrink ray at himself and slowly enlarged until he was approximately half Clank's normal height. Ratchet lowered his gloved hand to the floor. "I don't wanna step on ya. Want a ride?" Clank said something, but it was too faint for Ratchet to understand. He shook his head. "Sorry, I can't hear you." Clank hopped on to Ratchet's palm. That much he understood.

Ratchet carefully raised his hand to his shoulder and Clank climbed onto his back. Ratchet's face contorted slightly as he felt a pulling sensation in his fur and an intense itch as Clank grabbed hold, carefully making his way to just below the base of Ratchet's neck. With no artificial handholds or ridges to work with, Clank was grabbing and burrowing into Ratchet's fur as best as possible. The muscles on Ratchet's back were starting to twitch, but eventually Clank had a solid grip and rapped on his back twice. "Clank," Ratchet said through his clenched jaw, "I'm gonna have t' hurry. Normally, I don't mind carryin' ya on my back, but this itch is drivin' me crazy."

Ratchet took out his omniwrench and carefully reattached the power couplings to the four generators. As each lead was connected, Ratchet could hear a growing hum break the silence as power fed into the other systems throughout IRIS and the comet. With the return of the sound, Ratchet began to feel a lot better, but it was amazing how loud it was when you did not hear it for a while! Once the final lead was connected, Ratchet verified that all of the feeds were running, that the generating stations were in balance (that required a few slight adjustments with the wrench, but nothing he hadn't done a thousand times before with other energy and thruster systems) and that all of the power distribution switches were active (a few had been shut off deliberately, others had fault indicators and required a manual reset). When everything was checked, he nodded and began to maneuver through the tight maze of conduit back to the console.

As soon as they reached an open area, Ratchet held his hand up to his back. "Clank, now that we've got space, it's time t' ride on the bolt." Clank released Ratchet's fur, dropped into his open palm, and Ratchet lowered him gently to the floor. But before he manifested the shrink ray, Ratchet took off his right glove and scratched at the fur on his back for nearly a minute, his eyes closed and a slight purr coming from his muzzle. With a deep sigh of relief, Ratchet put his glove back on, aimed the shrink ray and enlarged Clank to match his current scale.

As Clank grew, Ratchet could both see and hear his friend convulsing with laughter. This was no mere chuckle - Clank appeared to be extremely amused by his antics. Ratchet grinned, a little embarrassed. "Do ya feel it when I ride on _your_ back?"

Clank's laughter diminished to a manageable chuckle. "No, Ratchet. Unlike you, I do not have sensors in that part of my chassis."

* * *

Getting back out of IRIS was a lot harder than getting in. With the power restored, many of the structures that Ratchet had admired on their inward journey now either moved with blinding speed, pulsed with high energy plasma or both. It took all of Ratchet's agility, assisted by Clank's thruster pack upgrade and a significant amount of luck for them to make it back to the entrance and the main console.

A very small and very tired Ratchet climbed out of the conduit, with Clank still attached to the connecting bolt on his back. Ratchet's ears drooped, his tail was a bit low to the ground and his fur smoldered in a few spots where he got a little too close to a plasma conductor. He manifested the shrink ray and enlarged himself and Clank back to normal size. Once that was done, Ratchet sat down heavily and rested, leaning his shoulder against the console. Clank disengaged from the connecting bolt and dropped to the floor. He looked into Ratchet's face with concern. "Are you all right?" Clank asked.

Ratchet nodded. "I'll be okay. That was the worst obstacle course I ever ran. How'd'ya manage to get through the first time?" Ratchet was still breathing hard and practically panted the words.

"The first time that I repaired IRIS's central processor, I had the assistance of the Zoni. With their help, I was able to slow down the flow of time. This made negotiating the circuitry and plasma components significantly easier." Clank looked at Ratchet's tired face, but Ratchet's eyes kept darting around the chamber.

"Clank, I thought IRIS would come back when the power came online. Everything's still dead."

Clank moved to the connector and reattached the cable. After a quick data transfer, he removed the cable again and said, "It appears that we were successful in restoring power. The emergency batteries are no longer being depleted, and are slowly beginning to recharge. IRIS will not be available until that charge is complete, however, and the main cells begin to replenish themselves. Even when that occurs, it is likely that IRIS will not be able to return to an active state without assistance."

Ratchet groaned. "What kind of assistance?"

Clank responded, "I do not know. There may be complications, based on the severity of the power loss. Ideally, a technician should be here to guide the restore process and bring IRIS online."

Ratchet nodded. "At least we've got time. Can you do it?"

Clank shook his head. "No. While I am familiar with some of the systems within IRIS, most of them are beyond my skills."

Ratchet thought about it. "What about Al?"

Clank nodded. "He is the only person that I am aware of that may have the skills necessary for this task. But he may need to be here, at the primary console."

Ratchet nodded grimly. "Well, Al's just gonna hafta make a house call... Aphelion?" He waited.

"Yes, Ratchet? Oh my, you sound tired. Is everything all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, thanks," Ratchet replied. It was nice that everyone was so concerned about his well being... "Could'ya patch me through t' Talwyn again?" There was a soft warning tone. "Talwyn? Ratchet."

"Lieutenant commander Cronk speaking. Miss Talwyn is temporarily indisposed. May I take a message?"

Indisposed? "Cronk, what's wrong?"

Cronk replied, "Miss Talwyn ate Zephyr's cookin' again. She's locked 'erself in 'er bathroom, 'n won't come out." Ratchet raised his left hand to his forehead, looked down, shook his head in dismay and groaned. "Don't worry, young feller; she'll be okay. I checked the ingredients. This too will, uh, pass."

Zephyr's voice sounded in the background, "Is that Ratchet? Tell'em it weren't my fault!"

Ratchet was just too tired to deal with this, "Look, just let 'er know we're okay. We've got the power online, but we need a tech t' get IRIS running. Clank and I're on our way t' Solana t' get Al, but it'll probably take a few days. Let 'er know it was the drophyds - they attacked IRIS 'n knocked out the generators. Keep watch for any news; we'll let ya know when were back in Polaris."

Zephyr responded, "All right, rookie. We'll take care of everythin' here. And if any of those fishies get close t' the station, they'll be on the menu!" "No, you durn fool! That's what got Miss Talwyn inta this mess!" "They weren't drophyds! They were... somethin' else..."

Ratchet's stomach did not agree with this conversation. "Look, I'm on my way t' Solana. Tell Talwyn I hope she feels better. Ratchet, out."

Clank looked over to Ratchet, still sitting and resting against the console. "I do not mean any offense, Ratchet, but there are times when I am very appreciative that I am not organic."

Ratchet smiled at his friend. "Trust me, I know how ya feel. I get that thought every time I open a NutraStix." He slowly stood. It was already starting to get dark. "We'd better get moving." Clank hopped onto the connecting bolt and sealed it. He activated his thruster pack, just in case. Ratchet walked over to the teleporter pad, stood on it and the scanning arms shot up around him.

They materialized next to Aphelion. Ratchet listened very intently, and could detect the steady hum of power being fed throughout the different areas of the comet. His mind had already tuned out the sound so that he was only aware of it if he concentrated on it. But it was a welcome change.

Clank leapt into Aphelion's open canopy. Ratchet climbed into Aphelion, a little more slowly than normal because he still ached from his encounter with IRIS's plasma conduits, and strapped himself into the pilot's seat. Taking the controls in his hands, he sealed the canopy and lifted off the surface of the icy comet. When they had cleared the atmosphere and were in clear space, Ratchet began plotting a course to Solana. "Aphelion, do you have the range to reach Metropolis?"

"Of course. But I will need to refuel and rest once we arrive."

"Good. We'll need time to grab Al 'n anything else we need." He looked over to Clank and smiled. "We had to leave in hurry last time..." Ratchet entered the full flight plan and engaged a wormhole. Switching Aphelion to autopilot, he asked her, "I don't suppose you've got any nanotech handy?"

"I thought you would never ask," she replied. There was a flash of blue as a large dose of nanotech was dispensed from Aphelion's nanogenerator into both Ratchet and Clank. Ratchet leaned back with his head against the cushioned support of the seat. "Thanks!" he said with a slight sigh.

"Happy to help," she replied. "It will take the nanogenerator a little time to replenish the containment units, but that should be completed before we arrive. Would you like a little cryosleep?"

Ratchet stirred. "No. No gas for me, thanks. I've had enough to last a while. I'll keep myself busy..." His eyes went blank for a second, Ratchet let out an "oooh" and a box of 'Stylus Shavings' manifested in his right hand. The box of sweetened cereal had been leftover from breakfast with Petrov when he was on New Fastoon; he forgot he tucked it into his manifestor 'for an emergency'. Well, since he was originally looking for a NutraStix, this counted as an emergency. Ratchet opened the box and tried a handful - it was sweet and tasted good to the lombax. He propped the box between his chair and the bulkhead, reached around to grab another handful and manifested the display pad.

Clank looked at the pad and recognized it. "Ratchet, is that the pad from the Apogee Station? May I ask what you are working on?"

Ratchet stiffened a little, blushed under his fur, met Clank's eyes and then showed him the pad with the lesson on it. "Clank, I appreciate your translating. But it's really important to me that I learn lombax myself. Its... part o' me... part of who I am. It's a part I didn't even know about until Tachyon attacked. I... need to learn this. Do ya understand?"

Clank nodded. He knew full well the amount of pain and longing the lombax had for his past, even if Ratchet consciously did not, or if he could not express it in words. Clank had been there when the BetaTex recorded his every thought and emotion under interrogation by Petrov, and had to experience it a second time when he heard the playback for Reg. Although the crystal was gone, the memory of it remained in his mind. "Yes, Ratchet. I do understand. Is there anything that I can do to assist you?"

Ratchet relaxed. "Thanks, Clank. Right now I'm just workin' on the basics. Her father must've taught her lombax when she was real little. I'm makin' progress; I can read Aphelion's name on the hull now, and some of the cereal box." He reached around and ate another handful. "Gettin' better at it. Maybe later, though... when I'm ready." Ratchet looked down for a moment, still somewhat embarrassed, looked into Clank's eyes again and added, "Don't tell Talwyn, okay?" He reached over and offered his fist. Clank butted it with his own and smiled. "As you wish."

Ratchet smiled and returned to working with the display pad, pausing on occasion to grab a handful of the dry cereal. Clank continued to watch his friend study. Some of Ratchet's recent behavior was beginning to make sense. An interesting pattern was beginning to emerge, something that his mom indicated might be happening, but Clank had never seen in Ratchet, or any other organic, before. It was rather fascinating to watch.

* * *

Ratchet worked on a number of language lessons from the display pad and munched about a quarter of the box of cereal before he became tired. Packing everything up into his manifestor, he soon fell asleep. Aphelion continued on autopilot, tracking the course Ratchet set that would take them to the city of Metropolis on planet Kerwan in the Solana galaxy.

* * *


	6. Chapter 04

**Chapter 4: Metropolis**

Ratchet was already half awake when a soft tone got his attention. Opening his eyes, he saw that he was in familiar territory. They had already entered into Kerwan's planetary system, and were on final approach to the city. Ratchet took the controls in his hands and asked Aphelion for manual. He gently brought the ship in to rest on one of the open landing pads within one of the city's multiple space ports.

Climbing out of the cockpit, he thanked Aphelion for the journey again, hooked up power and fuel feeds and submitted his bolt account to the control unit. The fuel began to flow and power trickle into Aphelion's systems, replenishing both. After both systems were fully refilled, Ratchet disconnected the feeds and said, "We'll probably be a day or two, depending on how quick we can get Al. Rest easy - this is the safest part o' town. We'll keep a frequency open. If you run inta trouble, take off 'n let us know."

Aphelion replied, "Thank you. I will let you know if anything develops." She closed her canopy, shut down all auxiliary systems and began to sleep.

Ratchet looked down at Clank, "So, ready t' see Al?" Clank nodded and hopped onto the connecting bolt. He enabled the thruster pack, out of habit more than anything else. They both knew that Al's was nearby, and there was a taxi stand just beyond the bridge that would take them directly there. Ratchet proceeded down the path to the waiting taxi. He climbed on board, and said in a loud, clear voice "Al's Roboshop." The taxi pulled away from the stand and zoomed off into the air traffic pattern.

From the airborne taxi, Ratchet looked around the city. He and Clank had not been gone all that long, but it was plain to see how much had changed. Part of this was due to Tachyon's attack and the reconstruction efforts. But it was also because change was an integral part of the nature of the city. Especially this city. Buildings, pedways and grindrails had sprung up at various places where they had not been before. Old structures had been torn down, replaced with new ones. Businesses and living complexes shifted and restructured. And everywhere he looked, there were signs that life was slowly returning to normal. Well, as normal as Metropolis ever got.

But along with all of the new construction, there were still signs of everything that the inhabitants had been through. Crumbled pedways and broken grindrails were only minor examples of the devastation that Tachyon had caused. Entire buildings had been sheered off and destroyed by the emperor's laser cannons, fragments sliding apart and falling to the planet's surface far below. There were still blast marks on nearly every surface, only partially scrubbed away by a combination of effort and time. These were all bittersweet reminders of both the pain and the triumph that the people of Metropolis had shown throughout the ordeal.

The taxi moved in to hover parallel to the pedway. Ratchet hopped off and started down the walkway to Al's shop. In the distance, he could see that very little had changed outwardly with the building. It looked just as he remembered it from years ago when they first met Al while looking for Qwark. As they approached the entrance, Clank disconnected from the backpack bolt and stood next to Ratchet. They entered.

Inside, the workroom had not changed a single bit. The curved work surface was still littered with various projects and components in various stages of deconstruction. There were crates everywhere, along with a number of parts and larger fragments that were destined to quietly stand watch and gather dust. But they did not see any sign of Al.

There was a newly installed button on the counter with a handwritten note next to it, saying 'ring for service'. Ratchet shrugged and pressed the button. A hologram of Al appeared behind the counter, and said, "Al's Robo-Ratchet! Clank! Gimme a minute, I'll be right there!" The hologram faded. Ratchet and Clank looked at each other, slightly puzzled.

A teleporter behind the counter sprang to life, and Al appeared in front of them. He was still wearing the same lab coat that Ratchet had pictured him in when attempting to lock on with the dimensionator. "Hey! Welcome back!" Al reached over the counter and shook both Ratchet's and Clank's hands with his own organic one. "I was worried I wouldn't see you again! When word got out that you were the target, well..."

"Nice t' see you too, Al!" Ratchet interrupted. "How've things been?"

"Doin' okay. Actually, better than okay. Business has never been busier. Well, a lot of it's repairs, of course. And a lot of folks don't have the bolts, but we do it anyway. It keeps things interesting! I even opened up two more shops in the city, and brought my brother and sister in to help out until things calm down. Where've you two been? Those robotic commandos were tearin' the city apart tryin' to find you!"

Ratchet tried to calm the geek down. "That's actually a _really_ long story. Look, we need yer help."

Al smiled, which looked a little sinister because of his cranial implant, "Whatd'y' need?"

Ratchet began to explain. "We've got a really powerful supercomputer in the Polaris galaxy." "Polaris??" Al interrupted. "Yeah, kind of a hike, I know. Anyway, this supercomputer's power system went down, and she went offline inta some kinda safe mode. We fixed the four generators before the emergency batteries ran out, but we need a hand bringin' her online."

Al looked at them. "Four power generators? Sigma three class? Singularity driven?" Ratchet nodded in response to each question in turn. Al stared at them puzzled. "But IRIS is fine."

Ratchet blinked. Huh? "How'd'ya know her name?"

"IRIS is fine. I submitted a search a few hours ago," Al continued.

"Wait, are we talkin' the same IRIS? The IRIS I know is in the Kreeli Comet in the Polaris galaxy..."

Al blinked, surprised. "The one I'm talking about is in the Frigean Comet in Solana. But they sound like the same design. No one knows who built IRIS... maybe they built more than one?" Al went to his terminal and performed a quick search. The screen went dark and an alarm sounded from his speakers. "Uh oh..."

Ratchet looked up in alarm. "What?" Al entered a few quick commands, and an interactive session appeared on his terminal. He kept entering data, pausing, entering more data, as though in conversation with someone. "What?!" Ratchet said again, even more alarmed. "Shhh..." Al muttered. Ratchet and Clank looked at each other and waited. Eventually, the alarm ceased and Al looked up. "Wow." Ratchet and Clank just looked at him. Al continued, "Apparently, there's an IRIS in almost every populated galaxy in this cluster. Your IRIS is down, but my IRIS saw my search and asked for more details. I spoke to her directly..." Al's voice trailed off in a sort of dreamy adoration. "Anyway, she sent me instructions on how to bring your IRIS back online." He handed a hard copy to Clank.

Clank scanned the document and looked up at Al. "Is this all? This is surprisingly trivial, given our expectations and our concerns."

"That's it. I was surprised, too." Al shook his head. "From what IRIS told me, this has happened before, and the recovery program is built into their design. Since you fixed her before the emergency batteries hit zero, that's it."

"So, what'd we have t' do?" Ratchet asked, curiously.

Clank looked up at him. With a shake of his head, he replied in a matter-of-fact tone, "We push the reset button."

* * *

Five minutes later, after Ratchet stopped laughing and could finally hold a conversation, he and Clank told Al about their recent journeys, picking up the story from when they left Kerwan in the emperor's personal fighter, through the quest for the dimensionator, the destruction of Tachyon, their visit to the lombax dimension (including Reg's cap) and their search for Talwyn's father.

"Wow!" Al said at last. "You've been busy!"

"Yeah, we've been all over the place," Ratchet said. "And we've still got more t' do. Hopefully we'll be able t' find Talwyn's father." The lombax looked down and his ears drooped.

"And... maybe... your own?" Al's gentle words caused Ratchet to snap his head up to look at the cyborg, shocked. "Don't be all that surprised. It's written all over your face, and in your voice. Tell you what, why don't you lend me that holovid for now. I'll dub a copy and make sure folks around here see it. I'll do a little digging. While that's running, I'll see if I can rig a lombax neural matrix in your regular helmet. Why don't you swing by your apartment, order dinner, play some vidgames, 'n get a good night's sleep 'n recharge. Stop back in the morning; I'll be here."

Ratchet grinned, handed him the holovid and shook Al's organic hand vigorously. "Thanks Al. I don't know how to repay ya."

Al grinned. "Oh, I'll find a way... I'll probably start by hijacking the matrix technology and doing some, uh, personal upgrading. But I might make you take me to the lombax dimension one day. It sounds really cool!"

Clank retrieved a display pad from the manifestor located behind his grill. "Al, please append this still image onto the end of the holovid."

Al took the display tablet and started at it closely. "Ratchet and a rocket sled?" he asked Clank, puzzled.

"Yes. This image of Ratchet was taken by Prime Minister Solstice on New Fastoon. Please annotate it as such when you append it. When you watch the holovid, you will understand." Al nodded and dubbed the image to his computer.

Ratchet did not know that the image even existed, and looked at it for the first time. He remembered standing there, talking about hoverbike racing and seeing some kind of flash. But he never realized what had happened or what Reg had done. But seeing the still... Ratchet turned away from the display and walked quickly toward the door of the shop. He sat down in the opening, staring out at the empty pedway, his ears low. Clank looked up at Al, put the display back into his manifestor and walked over to Ratchet. Reaching up, Clank put his hand on the lombax's shoulder. "Perhaps we should return to the apartment. Al will continue his work here, and it will give us both a chance to rest."

Ratchet looked over at Clank, his eyes moist. "Yeah, that's a great idea. Thanks, Clank. Gimme a minute."

Clank returned to Al, who watched his friend from a distance. Speaking quietly to Clank, he said, "I'm not sure how much help I can be, but anything I can do, let me know." Clank nodded in acknowledgement. "By the way, Clank, I have a memory upgrade for your system board, if you are interested..."

"Thank you, Al. Perhaps another day." Al nodded, and watched Ratchet stand and come back over to them.

"Thanks, guys," Ratchet said quietly. He removed the neural interface helmet that Reg had given to him and handed it to the engineer. "Al, be careful with this. Please. If you can duplicate it, great! But don't risk the original. It's... important..."

Al nodded and carefully took the cap and placed it into an elemental analyzer. "I understand. I'll be extremely careful with it. But I'll need the target cap, too..." Ratchet sighed and manifested his regular cap, handing it to Al. He had planned on wearing it; he wasn't used to being without a helmet of some sort. "I should either have something ready, or know more, by tomorrow morning. Why don't you get something to eat and get some sleep?"

"That sounds like a great idea. Thanks, Al. For everything. Ready, Clank?" Clank nodded, noted that Ratchet was getting a little more grey on the top of his head where the stripes met (probably stress), hopped on Ratchet's backpack, sealed the connecting bolt and activated his heli-pack upgrade. Al smiled, seeing his own handiwork as Ratchet and Clank walked out the door. There was a loud buzzing noise. Al stood still and spoke into the air, "Al's RoboShack... Oh, Eddie, its you. Look, I'm gonna be booked on a special project all night. It's important. Can you cover for me?"

* * *

Ratchet and Clank took the taxi to their apartment complex. Like everything else in Metropolis, it still showed signs of the drophyd invasion along with signs of recent repairs. They went in through the main entrance and took the lift to their upper terrace apartment. The last time they had been there, Ratchet had been tuning his rocket sled when Qwark had called from the Planetary Defense Center, asking for help against some heavily armed robotic commandos. It seemed like a lifetime ago. And, in some ways, it was.

As the stood outside the door to the apartment, Clank disengaged from the connecting bolt. "Y'know, Clank," Ratchet began, "I don't know 'bout you, but we've been on the fly so long it'll be good t' sleep in my own bed again." He activated the locking mechanism and the door swung wide. Ratchet's jaw dropped open and Clank's eyes dimmed.

The interior of the apartment had been ransacked. Well, that is too mild a word. The artwork, the electronics, the storage units, everything was ripped from their shelves and strewn in broken shards throughout the room. The furniture had been hacked into a pile of fine chips of plastic, metal, glass and wood. A single working illumination filament hung from an energy conduit ripped from the ceiling. All of the display units, audio replication modules, vidgames and recording crystals were broken, as though smashed with a hammer to make certain they would no longer function. The doors leading to Ratchet's and Clank's private bedrooms had been ripped from their tracks, and what they could see from the front door showed the same level of devastation, with Ratchet's torn bedding visibly strewn throughout his sleeping chamber. From the direction of the kitchenette came the odor of rancid food. The walls were bare except for a single poster - Tachyon's imperial seal. It looked at though someone was trying to drive home a point, making absolutely certain that there was nothing salvageable in the entire apartment.

Ratchet's ears drooped. "Clank, is there anything you need?" Clank shook his head, but remained silent. "Me neither. Let's go." Ratchet and Clank turned from the apartment and walked toward the lift, leaving the door wide open behind them.

* * *

Once they were on the lift, Clank reattached to the backpack bolt, and activated the thruster pack. Both of them were distracted. It was quite obvious that the drophyds, possibly even Tachyon himself, had very carefully and very deliberately torn their apartment to shreds. Possibly in search of the Lombax Secret. Possibly in revenge for stealing Percival's ship. Possibly because Ratchet was a lombax. It really didn't matter.

They drifted through the city, wandering the rapidly emptying pedways aimlessly as the sun went down. There was nowhere for them to go. Ratchet did not want to return to Al's; he did not want to have to explain what happened, nor did he want to disturb the engineer at work. And he did not want to watch the vid again. Clank offered to check if they could stay with Venus, his on screen (and occasional off screen) partner from the Secret Agent Clank holovid series. But that did not seem right either. Nor did sitting idle in a rented guest room. They both needed motion, distraction. Eventually, using a combination of meteor pads, grindrails and pedways, Ratchet drifted down to the park.

The only threat they encountered was a lone tesladrone. Ratchet swiped at it with his empty hands, missing the robot completely. After the drone shocked him, Ratchet realized that he was so used to the neural matrix, he had forgotten to retrieve his omniwrench from his manifestor before attempting the strike. He manually retrieved it and, wrench in hand, smashed the drone, the bolts direct depositing to his account. "Y'know, Clank," he said in a distant voice, "y'get real used to that matrix after a while..."

When night fell, they camped under a secluded archway in the park. Ratchet built a small campfire from the branches that fell from trees planted along the pathway. While Clank watched the fire, Ratchet's thoughts wandered down alleyways darker than those that physically surrounded them. It seemed like every home he ever had was gone. The garage on Veldin had been leveled by either the Tyhrranoids or the Rangers, he never found out which... His apartment was trashed, and while the building was still there, it might as well have been as desolate as Veldin; worse - at least Veldin had the thorntree... Clank used to have an apartment on Endako, but they had moved out and sold it after their return to Solana... Fastoon was a desolate, abandoned waste... He could not go back to New Fastoon without being immediately arrested and confined... The closest thing he could call 'home' was either the pilot's seat of Aphelion or Talwyn's childhood room on the Apogee Station. Either way, neither was permanent. His only comforts in these dark thoughts were Clank's eyes staring distracted into the fire and Reg's promise that he'd always have a home on New Fastoon... some day...

A few people wandered through the park that evening. The light of the campfire drew their attention, but they wisely avoided disturbing the lombax and his friend, giving them a wide berth. The night passed uneventfully.

* * *


	7. Chapter 05

**Chapter 5: Politically Correct**

Ratchet and Clank extinguished their fire and hid all traces of their camp site. They had both barely slept. Ratchet tossed fitfully all night long. When he did succeed in dozing off for brief periods, he was pursued by dark dreams of looking for something that kept changing location, all the while chased by thousands of clones of the cragmite emperor. Clank had used his internal recharger, but was still nowhere near 100 capacity.

The solar disk began to illuminate the cloud bottoms far beneath the lofty city of Metropolis. This indirect lighting gave the city a strange, diffuse glow that seemed to emanate from underneath the air traffic patterns, pedways and the steep slopes of the buildings. The glare made the grindrails especially difficult and dangerous to use - it was hard to see the rail ahead of you looking down at the shining clouds, and unless you were paying extremely careful attention, you might not notice a break in the line until it was too late.

Nevertheless, Ratchet and Clank took the long way to Al's, avoiding the taxi in favor of the physical exertion of the pedways, the adrenalin rush of the treacherous grindrails and the out of control tumbling of the meteor pads. As they stood outside Al's, Clank dropped to Ratchet's side and looked up at the lombax. "Ratchet, you have three leaves clinging to your fur near your right ear." Ratchet sighed and brushed them away quickly with his gloved hand. He looked down at Clank, who answered the unasked question, "Yes, you have dislodged them all."

They walked into Big Al's Roboshack to find Al sleeping at his computer. More precisely, he was sleeping _on_ his computer, the engineer's face resting against the keyboard. On the terminal in front of him, the display was completely filled with random characters as the input device tried to make sense of the mashed keys. Ratchet and Clank looked at each other. It seems that they were not the only ones that had a rough night.

"Al?" Ratchet tried to gently wake the engineer. "Al?" No reaction... Ratchet reached over and put his hand on Al's shoulder. "Al?" he repeated, shaking him slightly. Ratchet shook a little harder. "AL!"

Al startled, rapidly sitting up and looking around the room, disoriented. Eventually his implant and his eye focused into a single image of a lombax and robot. He wiped his face with his hands and looked at them. The raised keys from the input device had left ridges on the engineer's face. "Oh, hi Ratchet. Clank. Sorry, I must've dozed off. Did you sleep well?"

Ratchet and Clank just looked at each other. "Okay. How 'bout you? Looks like you were here all night?"

Al looked around, "Yeah, I was. But I made great progress!" He stood, gulped down the remains of a half-full cup of stale coffee and moved to a locked storage bin beneath his counter. Al bent down, touching the sensor plate with both hands. The lock released, and Al opened the bin. "The good news is that I was able to duplicate the technology in Reg's cap! It took a bit of effort - a lot of really delicate work went into making that! But the original cap is unharmed." Al handed Reg's cap to Ratchet. The lombax immediately put it on his head and his eyes unfocused. The crystal on his manifestor changed from a steady green glow to a slightly pulsating one, matching the lombax's heart rate. Ratchet could see that it still worked, and smiled.

"Ya'know Al, it was real hard to get by without it. You get spoiled after a while." Ratchet explained what happened with the tesladrone, and demonstrated how his omniwrench would automatically manifest without any conscious effort.

"Well, if you like that," Al said in a tone that showed he was rather pleased with himself, "take a look at this!" Al held out Ratchet's old leather cap to the lombax. Ratchet took it and examined it.

The interior leather had been removed and replaced, sewn back in with some kind of raritanium thread. In addition, there were raised ridges in the underside of the leather. Ratchet could hardly feel them with his bare hand, but underneath, presumably, were the raritanium wires and sensor arrays that made up the neural grid. On the outer surface of the cap, Al had embedded a series of tiny raritanium studs, arranged in an eight by eight grid in a diamond pattern on the surface of the helmet. They were significantly smaller than the crystals on Reg's cap. Ratchet was extremely impressed by Al's craftsmanship. The cap really looked sharp!

"I didn't use crystals, because I didn't have anything here sturdy enough. I've seen you in action, and I know you, uh, get bashed on the head sometimes..." Ratchet looked up into Al's face. "Not that you'd notice!" Al quickly added.

Clank gave a light chuckle and nodded. Ratchet just laughed, "Yeah. Occupational hazard..."

"Anyway," Al continued, "the studs're much more sturdy and can take a lot more abuse. But I needed more of them to cover the frequency range the crystals had - that's why there are so many of them. But it also gives you a little redundancy; if one gets damaged or the leads to it get broken, the others can compensate. Everything else was relatively easy, but I did have to carve into the metal plating of the cap in order to countersink the wires and studs. So the cap, as a helmet, is structurally weaker. But it should be more comfortable than Reg's to wear. Try it out!!"

Ratchet looked into Al's face, and knew that he was eager to see if it worked. Ratchet removed Reg's cap and carefully stored it in his manifestor. Gingerly, Ratchet put on Al's cap. "You don't have to be that gentle with it," Al commented. "I triple reinforced all of the leads and sensors." Ratchet had gotten so used to Reg's cap in the last few days that his own cap felt funny to him at first. But it was certainly more comfortable! He was unable to feel any wiring or probes making contact with his fur, it was slightly lighter and it also fit his ears properly. Ratchet secured the chinstrap and looked down at the manifestor crystal. It remained a steady green. He swung his omniwrench, but he was still empty handed. Al frowned slightly. "Hmmm... Give it a minute - it probably needs to recalibrate to match your ... Ah! There." The manifestor crystal flickered and began to pulse, matching the lombax's heartbeat. Ratchet swung with the omniwrench, and the weapon manifested itself in his hand properly, returning to his manifestor automatically. If anything, the response time was slightly faster than Reg's cap.

"Al, this is spectacular!! Thanks!!" Ratchet was extremely pleased.

"Glad I could help. I have all the specs and schematics, so I can make another anytime you want. I'm also going to see if I can improve the neural interfaces in my implants. The signal quality and the reaction time in the lombax net are much better than what the DreadZone crew fitted me with." At the mention of DreadZone, the mood in the room darkened significantly.

"Now, the bad news. I wasn't able to find anything about your father or your origins in my searches. I'll keep at it, though. I dubbed the vid." Al handed the case back to Ratchet, carefully sealed with the media inside, and looked at Clank. "I see what you mean about the still. I added it with the note, like you asked. I'm using both stills for other searches and analysis as well. Hopefully, we'll find something." Looking back up to Ratchet, he added, "And last night I gave the mayor a copy of the holovid and filled her in on what you told me. This way, she's up to speed and knows what happened after the drophyd attack. She wants you to drop by her office this morning."

"Al, what can I say? You've been great!! Let me know how t' make it up t' you!" Ratchet was very pleased, but also wanted to be on his way. IRIS was still down and Polaris was a long trip. Also, while he liked Sasha and was grateful to the mayor for everything she had done, he really did not want to get distracted with talking shop or reminiscing about... other things... just now...

Al smiled. "You can start by promising me that you'll show me around New Fastoon someday."

Ratchet grinned. "You got it! Although it'll be a few years before I can show you around without gettin' both of us arrested."

Al grinned. "I can wait. Take care of yourselves, and let me know how things go with IRIS. If I find out anything more, I'll get word to you." Al shook both Ratchet's and Clank's hands one more time, and watched as they left his shop.

* * *

Ratchet had planned on a leisurely trip to the landing pad, but decided to take a taxi instead. He had tried to contact Aphelion over the comm link, but could not get through. This was very unusual, and Ratchet wanted to get to the ship as quickly as possible to investigate.

As the taxi hovered parallel to the pedway, Ratchet leapt off the floating platform, Clank riding on the backpack straps. The lombax ran the entire distance between the taxi stand and the landing pad, but then skidded to a stop approximately thirty cubits in front of Aphelion. She was dozing peacefully, but she was surrounded by a wide ring of dozens of orange defense cones. Ratchet had seen these before when he was taking his first flying lessons as a kit - they were designed to give off a small jolt of electrical energy if you got too close. But he had never seen any this large before, or so many of them in one place, nor packed so closely together so that their bases were almost touching.

The lombax picked up a small pebble and tossed it gently in the direction of Aphelion. The cones sprang to life; a long metallic probe swiftly extended straight into the air from each one. An extremely high power jolt of electricity shot out from the cone nearest the pebble, striking it and exploding it into a fine powder. The remaining cones generated an intense electrical field, surrounding Aphelion in a dome of high voltage. Even from this distance, Ratchet's fur stood on end due to the static in the air. After about three minutes, the crackling web of energy subsided, but the cones continued to emit a sinister pulsing glow, still visibly active.

Ratchet muttered, "Nice touch, Sasha..."

Clank chuckled. "It appears as though we will need to 'drop by' the mayor's office after all."

* * *

Ratchet and Clank took the taxi to the City Hall complex. This building also housed the Planetary Defense Center, Qwark's old office, and dozens if not hundreds of administrative functions. As they stepped into the lobby, a chill struck Ratchet and his fur bristled; he wasn't sure why.

Perhaps it was the displays located on every surface that showed four different programs at the same time: GNN Breaking News, GNN Financials, G-SPAN and G-Justice. Perhaps it was the fact that G-Justice, a real time crime network, just flashed a photo of Ratchet and Clank with a big 'apprehended' across it. Perhaps it was GNN's breaking coverage of how two 'persons of interest' involved in an ongoing investigation into the events surrounding the drophyd invasion had turned themselves in to the mayor's office. Perhaps it was the financial crawl that showed Gadgetron's stock dropping due to its flagship customer being detained. Ratchet stared at the monitors and thought about it. (It was hard not to - they were on every flat surface in the lobby.) No: it was G-SPAN. Every time Ratchet saw G-SPAN, he had to fight the urge not to put a missile through the display. Even now, Ratchet had to consciously put away the RYNO that had manifested into his hand. Something about watching the empty seats, the legal prattle and self congratulatory speeches; it made his ears twitch and his fur stand up.

He moved to stand in line for the information desk. There were at least five people ahead of him. He shook his head, looked at the monitors again for a second before tearing his gaze away in disgust. Finally, he just closed his eyes and waited.

"Ahem!" The information booth system was trying to get his attention. "You... with the robot on your back!" Ratchet opened his eyes, and crossed the open distance to the booth. "Can I help you?"

"Hi. Ratchet and Clank to see the Mayor." Ratchet shifted a bit nervously. GNN now had a live camera feed focusing in on him and Clank at the information booth, and the camera was scooting around, trying to get a better angle.

"Ratchet and Clank. Yes. The mayor has you down for an appointment between 10:35 and 10:45am. You are approximately four minutes early. You may either wait in the lobby or be teleported to her office."

Ratchet could see the GNN camera drone hovering at the edge of his peripheral vision. He hated camera drones... Without even thinking about it, he lifted his right hand, fired a single combustor round destroying the camera and muttered "Tele..."

There was a flash of energy, and Ratchet and Clank stood in the office of the mayor of Metropolis. Or, more specifically, the empty waiting room for the mayor's office. "...port..." Ratchet's final syllable trailed off into the stillness. Ratchet chuckled, "Well, you gotta admit, Sasha always ran a tight ship!"

Clank dropped from the connecting bolt and wandered over to a small cluster of chairs surrounding a table next to a pair of closed doors. The table was strewn with display tablets, each with an individual tabloid on it. Clank shuffled through the copies of Field And Stream (for plasma physics enthusiasts), Soldier of Misfortune (for the mercenary types), Better Homes and Terraforming (for the architects) and Reader's Indigestion (a common bathroom reader geared to the organic types). Eventually, Clank selected a Network Inquirer, which featured a cover story about Clank and Venus's secret love nest on Hoven. Ratchet shook his head. "Clank, how can you read that trash?"

Clank looked up at Ratchet and said, "I agree. The investigative reporting is extremely dubious. Our love nest is on Orxon." Clank resumed reading. Ratchet blinked and stared at Clank for a while; he wasn't sure if his friend was joking or not...

Three minutes later, the doors to the mayor's office opened. Ratchet and Clank walked through them, up the plush, royal blue carpeting to the large, ornately carved desk of the Mayor of Metropolis. Sasha was seated behind the desk, wearing a dark blue suit that was strangely reminiscent of the military uniform she wore while commanding the Phoenix. She looked up at the pair and smiled. "Sorry I'm running a little late. Hope you didn't have any trouble getting in. GNN's been on my case about this all morning."

Ratchet smiled back, "No problem. You've done a great job with the rebuild!" Ratchet flipped a bolt onto the mayor's desk. "Sorry about the mess."

Sasha looked at the bolt, and then at Ratchet's face. She started laughing. Hard. Climbing out from behind the stacks of paperwork, Sasha made her way around the desk and hugged both Ratchet and Clank in turn. "I missed you guys!"

Sasha directed them to an informal grouping of plush chairs and couches, off to the side of the room and away from the desk and paperwork. "Al filled me in. Why didn't you send word? We could've helped you!"

Ratchet shook his head. "Things were too quick. And just think of the trouble it would've caused: intergalactic war between Solana and Polaris! What would your father say?"

Sasha chuckled. "Let me worry about him. At least you could have sent word you were alive. Tachyon's army was tearing the place apart looking for you. After you took off, some of them followed. But most stayed behind for a few days, looking for something. I thought they found it and left. But from what Al told me, I guess they were after the Lombax Secret."

Ratchet calmly told her, "They were tearing up our apartment too." Sasha gasped. "No big deal - they didn't find anything. But, uh, I guess I'm out my security deposit."

"There was nothing there that would have been of use to them," Clank added.

Sasha nodded. "Al told me about the dimensionator, and that the cragmites are gone now, including Tachyon. Pity you didn't take out the drophyds at the same time." Ratchet was about to defend himself, but did not have to. "But with the prototype on the fritz, it probably would have fried one neuron too many." Sasha looked into Ratchet's eyes. "And we all know you don't have many to spare!" Clank chuckled, and Ratchet grinned, meeting her gaze.

Their eyes locked. They fell silent for a moment. And then Sasha said what had been on both their minds about this meeting. "I still wish it could've worked out differently."

Ratchet shook his head, "I know. But could you imagine me as your consort? Involved in politics? I can't even watch G-SPAN without blowin' somethin' up! Government's not my thing." Ratchet looked into her eyes. "But it is yours. You've gotta gift for organization, for leadership, for people. Look at all you've done here! What you've accomplished!"

Sasha sighed. "I know. And I realize that. In a way, that's why I wanted to see you. Well... one reason, anyway." She smiled a little suggestively and then sighed, going back to business. "If the lombaxes do come back to this dimension, my father and I want to open diplomatic relations with them. I may need to ask your help with that, when the time is right."

Clank looked at Sasha, over to Ratchet and back to Sasha. "Miz Mayor, did you just ask for Ratchet to assist you in a diplomatic capacity?"

Sasha shuddered slightly. "Yeah. Scary, isn't it."

Clank nodded, "Indeed..."

Ratchet grinned. "Sure. But remember, I'm kinda non-grata there."

"That's okay," Sasha said. "Meanwhile, I'll help Al look for Max Apogee, and anything we can find about your past. We'll keep searching on this side."

She got up and moved to her desk, followed closely by Ratchet and Clank. Ratchet noticed that among the still images prominently displayed on its surface was the image of himself working on Reg's rocket sled. Ratchet quickly averted his eyes; he didn't want to think about that right here, right now. Clank saw his motions, scanned the desk, took inventory of the images and understood. His own image was there as well, as was Al's, her father's, along with some of the Rangers.

Sasha opened a drawer and removed a glove that had an orange cylindrical storage chamber on it. "I suppose you know how to work this?" she asked Ratchet, handing it to him. Ratchet nodded, and put it in his manifestor.

"By the way," Ratchet started, "the cones were a little overkill, don't you think?"

"Yeah. But they worked, didn't they?" Sasha confided with a smile.

Ratchet nodded, "Yeah."

Sasha looked at her desk. "Well, I know you want to go back to Polaris, and that this was not a planned stop. Keep in touch this time! I don't bite..." That slightly suggestive grin appeared on her face again. "...much." She hugged both Clank and Ratchet again. "Remember, we've been through a lot together. Whatever else we may or may not be, we'll always be friends." Sasha smiled.

Ratchet returned the grin and was about to say something when a flash of energy enveloped them. Ratchet and Clank found themselves standing in the lobby again, near the information booth. The clock above the booth read 10:45am. Ratchet looked at it and shook his head. Sasha always was very punctual...

As they made their way out of the lobby, Ratchet was distracted enough to be able to ignore the displays around him. (Gadgetron's stock was back up on the breaking news item that he and Clank had been interrogated by the mayor and cleared, G-SPAN still showed a lot of empty seats, and G-Justice was now looking for a reptilian smuggler wearing an eye patch and a wide-brimmed black hat, thought to be travelling with a parrot.) He thought back on his meeting with Sasha. With everything that happened, he had been really nervous about seeing her again. But he was glad they were still friends, even though they both knew they would probably never be more than that. It was enough!

Ratchet was smiling as he and Clank took a taxi back to the landing pads.

After the taxi parked, Ratchet and Clank got off and slowly made their way to Aphelion. Clank stayed well to the rear while Ratchet manifested the cone glove. The storage chamber began pulsing orange in time with the cones surrounding Aphelion. Holding his gloved palm outward, Ratchet moved toward the cones. They activated, sending their metallic probes into the air, but did not discharge. Ratchet's gloved hand grabbed the nearest cone by the probe and it vanished - stored into the chamber for another day. The ammunition count increased by one.

Ratchet carefully gathered all of the cones, fifty in total; Sasha certainly wanted to get his attention! When all the cones were safely in the heavily upgraded cone glove, Ratchet returned it to his manifestor and contacted Aphelion. "It is about time! I have been waiting for you to call." Ratchet shook his head, explained that the cones blocked out their signals and that they were standing just outside her. "...Oh..." She opened the canopy. Clank hopped into the co-pilot's seat while Ratchet once again traced the writing on Aphelion's hull. This time he was able to read it easily. Smiling, he got behind the controls. "Take us into the black." Aphelion closed her canopy and lifted out of the atmosphere.

Ratchet plotted a course to take them back to the Apogee Station. Once underway, Ratchet said, "Aphelion, open a frequency to Talwyn, please..."

* * *


	8. Chapter 06

**Chapter 6: Watch Your Back**

"You've gotta be kidding." Talwyn was just as surprised as they had been about the ease of bringing IRIS back online.

"Serious," Ratchet replied. "And apparently there's a whole bunch of IRISes. I wonder if they'd be sisters... Anyway, we're on our way. It'll take us about... um... sixteen hours. We'll refuel, pick you up and go t' IRIS from there."

"Okay, Ratchet. I'll be waiting. Talwyn, out."

"Sixteen hours..." Ratchet sighed. "Aphelion, take over."

"Of course. Would you like some cryosleep?"

"Nah. I wanna do a little studying first. Then I'll prob'bly doze off on my own, especially after last night. What about you, Clank? Want some downtime and a recharge?"

"I will regenerate my power cells in a little while. At the moment, I am tapping into the local Solana news agencies. I am downloading some articles to read offline later."

"Cool." The box of cereal appeared in his hand. "Wow. This thing's even more sensitive than Reg's. I'm gonna have t' watch it. Still..." Ratchet opened the box and propped it between the bulkhead and his seat. He grabbed a handful and started munching. But then he pulled the box back out and started inspecting it carefully, trying to read the text. It was much more difficult than the lessons; the pad was geared towards a much younger Talwyn, so the vocabulary was very simple. Even so, Ratchet found that, with effort, he could now read almost all of it. There was only one spot where he was having trouble.

"Uh, Clank? Could ya gimme a hand? What's this section?" He handed the box over to Clank, pointing out one panel of the box.

Clank looked at the spot indicated. "That is the ingredient list, Ratchet."

"Oh. What's it say?"

Clank scanned down the list, his eyes widening slightly. He glanced at Ratchet, peeked inside the box at the innocuous looking cereal inside and then back at the list. "You really do not want to know."

Ratchet retrieved the box from Clank, wedged it between the bulkhead and seat again, and ate another handful. Clank stared at him, his sensors widening. "Whatever it is, it's tasty. But you're right - I don't wanna know."

Ratchet pulled out the practice pad again, but found the lessons were getting boring. Not that he didn't want to learn; it was just that the content was a bit, well, dull. He sighed and put the pad down. Clank saw this and had a suggestion, "Ratchet, I can take some of the articles I am downloading from Solana and translate them into lombax for you. This will provide you samples to read that you might find more interesting. For example, I just downloaded a press release; it seems that your favorite vidgame series is issuing a new installment in a few weeks."

Ratchet's eyes widened. He turned to Clank and smiled. "Really!? That'd be great! Thanks, Clank!"

Clank downloaded the data to the tablet and Ratchet began to try to read it. Clank could see that he was struggling. "Ratchet, at this stage of your study I would recommend that you read the text aloud. I will be able to follow along, and assist if necessary." Ratchet nodded and began to read the press release out loud. It was slow going at first, but Ratchet became more confident as he went. And since the material was interesting, and to some extent familiar, the lombax found it much easier than the repetition of the tablet's original lessons, even if the content was more challenging.

"Clank, what's this symbol mean? I've never seen it before."

"That is an ampersand."

"Oh." Ratchet paused. "Wait... When'd'ya see an ampersand? I know Rykan V didn't have any..."

"While we were in Doctor Tesseract's study, I scanned his entire holovid collection, including the games he had on his tablet. He had installments from this series loaded."

"Oh. Yeah. Makes sense." Ratchet continued to read. "Y'know, this sounds pretty cool! I've gotta get a copy... well... one o' these days..." Clank nodded. Both he and Ratchet knew that their game system had been destroyed along with everything else in their Metropolis apartment, but there was no sense thinking about that now. Ratchet continued to read, and completed the article. "That was a great idea! Thanks, Clank! And... thanks for the help."

Clank downloaded a few more articles for Ratchet to work through, but after about two hours, Ratchet became tired. He had barely slept the previous night, and the last few days had been rather stressful in one way or another. Ratchet returned the cereal box (now half empty) to his manifestor and handed the practice pad to Clank. "If y' see anything good, grab it for me, okay?" Clank nodded. "I'm gonna get some sleep. Why don't you relax and recharge; I've got a feeling it's gonna be a long day." Clank nodded and hooked up a power feed from Aphelion's control panel. "Aphelion, are you okay with autopilot for a while? Wake me if y' need anything."

She responded, in a slightly mothering voice, "I'll be fine. Get some sleep - you sound exhausted."

Ratchet smiled. "Thanks, Aphelion. G'night." He squirmed onto his side in the pilot seat (as best as the harness would allow) and quickly began to snore.

"What an amazing creature," Aphelion said to Clank.

Clank nodded, "Indeed."

* * *

"Ratchet?" Aphelion's voice rang in the dark cockpit. The lombax muttered something inaudible and rolled over in the harness. "Ratchet?" The ship said a little louder. She did not want to alarm the lombax, but it was time for him to wake up.

Clank chuckled. "Aphelion, please perform a barrel roll. That will get his attention..." No sooner had he made that suggestion, Aphelion swung to the left. Hard. Beginning the loop, Ratchet was bounced around in the seat and harness, his head swinging around and his eyes opening. Clank could see them try to focus on the controls as he yawned widely. "Good morning, Ratchet," he said.

"G'morning, Clank. Aphelion. Are we there yet?" He put his hands on the controls and leveled out, still blinking away traces of sleep.

"We are approximately one hour from the Nundac Asteroid Ring. I thought you might like to wake up a little early and get ready," Aphelion replied.

Ratchet was still yawning. "Good idea. Whoa, was I out. Any trouble on the trip?"

"Nothing significant, Ratchet." Clank began detailing the events. In a strange way, Clank found that he was looking forward to this summary. "Talwyn called..."

That woke him up. Ratchet interrupted him, "She called? While I was asleep? What'd she say?"

Clank chuckled. "She commented about your snoring."

"_What!?_" Ratchet was both frustrated and embarrassed.

Clank continued mercilessly, "Once Aphelion convinced her that it was not mechanical trouble, she found it rather amusing."

Aphelion added, "She even noted the way your breathing stirred the fur on your arm."

Clank delivered the final blow, "I believe the term she used was 'cute'."

Ratchet was crushed... His ears drooped and his eyes darted from Clank to Aphelion's control panel and back. Finally, he sighed and gave up. It just wasn't fair. He asked Clank, "So, what'd she want?"

"She just wanted to make certain that you were all right. When she saw that for herself, she informed us that she would await our arrival at the station. She also said that she would have a flask of coffee ready for you."

Ratchet groaned. "All right. Anything else?"

Clank looked at Ratchet critically, "Your fur is sticking up on the side of your head where you were resting against the seat cushion." Ratchet's right hand moved from the controls to cover his eyes as he shook his head slowly. It was going to be one of those days... He then tried to pat down the errant fur, with limited success.

They landed in the launch bay of the Apogee Station, near the sigma three power generation station. Ratchet and Clank climbed out of Aphelion, and Ratchet went over to the fuel and power leads. He connected them both to the ship and quickly charged both storage facilities. "I'm glad you have the range for intergalactic flight, Aphelion."

Her voice responded from the cockpit speaker. "I am too. It does make things much more enjoyable. But I will admit that is about my limit."

Ratchet removed the feeds and traced the lines on her hull once again. "That's fine by me," he said in a soothing voice.

"And no welcome for me?" Talwyn's voice covered the length of the launch bay in a mockingly hurt tone.

"Oooops." Aphelion's voice was cut off as her canopy shut and she powered down. She did not want to hear this.

Ratchet looked up and saw Talwyn standing next to the doorway, with Zephyr and Cronk flanking her. She held a flask of hot coffee in her hand, and, distracted, she took a small sip. Ratchet approached warily, with Clank trailing a few steps behind him. "Hi. Great to be back!" He looked into her eyes. "Thanks for meeting me... uh, us." He looked at the coffee flask and grinned, trying to defuse the situation. "Can I have some too?"

Talwyn grinned in reply, offered him the flask, put her arm around his back and led him to the lift leading to the station. Cronk and Zephyr stayed behind. "Uh, Clank," Zephyr began uncomfortably, "Gotta minute?"

Clank looked up at the warbot, puzzled. "Me and Cronk here wanna have a few words..." Cronk glanced back at Talwyn and Ratchet, now proceeding up the lift to the station, "Robot to robot..."

"Very well," Clank responded.

They waited. When Ratchet and Talwyn were no longer in hearing range, Zephyr began, "Ya mighta noticed that Miss Talwyn has taken quite a shine t' you rookies."

Cronk (O): "Yes, indeedie... I haven't seen her this excited since her father took 'er on her first lombax dig. When wuz that, Zeph?"  
Zephyr (Z): "Oh, 'bout twenny years ago, give 'r take..."  
O: "Anyway, she'd been all mopin' 'bout her father going missin'. Then you two show up."  
Z: "Bustin' in and shootin' up our defenses."  
O: "Swimmin' in our fishin' hole."  
Z: "Blowin' a hole in our control room."

Clank interjected, "We will gladly help repair any damage that we may have caused. If our situation at the time had not been so dire, we would have displayed better manners."

Cronk scratched his head a little, flecks of paint drifting to the landing pad.

O: "Ye'see, that ain't the problem."  
Z: "Not that we don't want the help."  
O: "But ... we've been with Miss Talwyn all 'er life."  
Z: "Watched 'er grow up."  
O: "And we've never seen 'er like this b'fore."

Clank chuckled slightly. While he thought he could see where this was going, he was intensely amused by the entire situation.

Z: "'Tain't funny! She's all starry-eyed over yer friend, there."  
O: "Him and his gold fuzz."  
Z: "Losin' her perspec-i-tive."

Clank interjected. "They are biological life forms. They are attracted to each other. I believe that they are, as organics put it, 'falling in love'..."

Z: "Exactly me point! It's gettin' outta hand!"  
O: "We're here t' protect Miss Talwyn."  
Z: "We wanna know if that lombax has any... intentions..."

Clank worked very hard to stifle the chuckle that he felt such a desperate need to produce. "I can assure you that the emotions they feel toward each other are mutual. I have been with Ratchet my entire existence. I, too, have noticed unusual behavior patterns in him recently. This is most notable in Talwyn's presence. I believe that your concerns are misplaced."

Cronk and Zephyr looked at each other, not completely convinced.

"In addition," Clank continued, "any emotional interaction between them is their decision. They are our friends. We should not interfere in their private matters."

Zephyr smiled. Cronk nodded to his friend.

O: "Good. I'm glad we see sensor to sensor."  
Z: "We don' wanna stop 'em!"  
O: "Heck no! This is the happiest we've seen Miss Talwyn in months!"  
Z: "We wanted t' make sure the rookie felt likewise."  
O: "Don't wanna see her git hurt."  
Z: "And wanted t' see where you stood."

Clank blinked. He had not anticipated this. "Where I stood?"

Z: "Yeah. After all, him bein' yer friend 'n all. Now he's got Talwyn. Some folk might get... well..."  
O: "Jealous."  
Z: "Jealous 'bots... do things..."

Clank chuckled again. "Ratchet is my friend. I am pleased to see that he is happy, and this will not diminish our friendship. He has been supportive throughout my partnerships..."

Zephyr interrupted with a slightly lecherous tone in his voice, "Really? Tell us about 'em..." Cronk nudged him in the side, hard, producing a rattling sound.

Clank continued, ignoring the innuendo filled interruption, "and I support him with any companion or mate he chooses to select."

Zephyr and Cronk looked at each other, aghast. "_Mate?_ Our little Talwyn?"

Clank closed his eyes and shook his head in dismay.

* * *

"So, that's pretty much it." Ratchet was filling Talwyn in on their journey to Metropolis. "After we saw the mayor we started back. The trip was pretty quiet. But Al rigged my cap, he can make one for you, and we've got the fix for IRIS." Ratchet took another sip from the flask. The coffee was good, but just not the same as Petrov's sludge...

"What's our next step then?" Talwyn asked.

"Well, I figured we'd get IRIS online and start looking for your father. That's where we left off." Talwyn rested her hand on top of Ratchet's. The lombax smiled for a second and then looked around. "Where's Clank? And Cronk and Zephyr?"

The lift rose, bringing the three bots in question along with it. Cronk and Zephyr looked everywhere around the control deck but at Talwyn and Ratchet. Clank moved forward to join them.

"Everything okay?" Ratchet asked. "I was gettin' worried."

"There was no need for concern, Ratchet," Clank replied. "We were just discussing how pleased we are to see you both so happy."

Ratchet startled. "Huh?" And then he realized that he and Talwyn were still holding hands.

A loud buzzing filled the control room, and a red light began to flash in the illumination grid. Talwyn and the warbots sprang into action. Cronk and Zephyr moved to the automatic defense and the internal station security systems. Talwyn ran to the scanners.

"Drophyds... Two dropships. They're approaching the sigma three generator."

"We're on it!" Ratchet shouted. "C'mon Clank!" Clank leapt onto the connecting bolt and activated the thruster pack upgrade. There was no 'just in case' - he knew they would need it.

Ratchet ran over to the teleporter pad. The arms shot up and they found themselves standing next to the shuttle pod on the generator's maintenance grid. Last time they were here, Ratchet and Clank had to dodge their way through the moving platforms, energy beams and fields in order to gain access to the station from the maintenance lift. They wanted to make sure that no one else tried it.

In the distance, they could see the stations automated defense systems charge. The ion cannons sent pulses of destructive power towards the two drophyd ships. One of the ships appeared to have been hit, but only a glancing shot. It swerved and made a crash landing on the alpha asteroid. Ratchet would have to deal with them later - at least the teleporter cannons could not get a lock on the station when the defenses were active!

The second dropship was getting closer. Ratchet pulled out the alpha cannon and let it charge. He wasn't sure if it would have the range, but it was worth a shot. After it charged, Ratchet fired a blast that pierced the dropship's engine compartment. The forces inside the ruptured engine started to tear the ship to shreds. Then the ion cannons leveled another volley, destroying the wounded ship. He heard Cronk's excited voice over the audio channel, "Excelsior! Heh, heh. See that, rookie! I still got it!"

Ratchet smiled to himself; the ship had been about to blow up anyway. Over the comm link, he replied, "Yup. You do. Good shooting!" He looked over at the alpha asteroid. "Look, there are probably survivors on the asteroid ring. Clank and I'll make our way through the maintenance grid and up to the teleporter cannons. We'll get rid of any drophyds that might still be around, and autodestruct the other dropship."

Zephyr's voice cut in, "Ten-four, rookie. Happy hunting!"

Talwyn's voice scolded both the warbots, "Knock it off, guys. This is serious. Ratchet, be careful. Let us know if you need help. Talwyn, out."

Ratchet carefully moved through the maintenance grid for the sigma three generator. While it was easier than the last time he had done this because they knew the route and pattern, it still involved some rather precise acrobatics. Ratchet was breathing a little heavily by the time they reached the central maintenance lift. They swerved to the side, avoiding the lift in favor of the teleport cannon situated next to it. It had been shut down when the defense systems were activated. "Talwyn, I'm at the teleport cannon. Switch off the defenses and give me about ten seconds before you turn them back on. I wanna get to the zeta asteroid and work my way backwards towards the dropship."

"Confirmed. Shutting down... now..."

Ratchet began counting down in his head... 10...  
He aligned the teleport cannon, focusing it on the zeta asteroid. 9...  
He sent the remote activation signal. 8...  
The zeta cannon locked and powered up. 7...  
The alignment was confirmed. 6...  
He and Clank stepped onto the pad. 5...  
Ratchet activated the teleporter. 4...  
This felt soooo weird. 3...  
Almost there... 2...  
They reconstituted on the zeta asteroid. Clank giggled reflexively. There were no drophyds in sight. 1...  
Ratchet aligned on the station's teleport cannon. 0...  
The zeta cannon could not get a lock. The station's cannon was deactivated, and he did not see any drophyds on the station.

"Ratchet, the defenses are back online." Talwyn's voice confirmed what he already knew.

"Right. We're gonna check things out. Ratchet, out."

Ratchet and Clank when from asteroid to asteroid, but did not see anything other than cerullean swarmers and centipedes. Neither were a significant threat, so he left them alone. The lombax thought he might have seen another leviathan in the distance, but he was not about to go hunting just now. Ratchet made his way through the asteroids until he reached the crash site near the alpha teleport cannon.

There were drophyd survivors. But most of their armor and weapons had been destroyed in the crash. It was rather pathetic to see the fishlike creatures flopping around on the asteroid surface without benefit of their hydrospheres. He activated the self destruct on the ship, started counting to himself again and turned back to face the drophyds. There was a brief flash behind him. Ratchet took out his omniwrench and was making short work of the fish when he heard Clank say, "Uh, Ratchet..."

Clank only used that tone when something big and bad was behind him. He quickly spun and brought the wrench down with all his strength. It made a rather loud and resounding clang as it impacted the trillium armor plate on the attacker's forearm. Ratchet looked up and the omniwrench vanished from his numb hand.

"I told ya t' watch yer back!" Petrov said to the rather surprised lombax, a huge grin on his face.

* * *


	9. Chapter 07

**Chapter 7: The Advance Scout**

Ratchet was stunned. The very last thing he expected to see behind him was Petrov. And his presence here opened a ton of questions in Ratchet's mind. But first...

Ratchet extended his hand to the general. Petrov took it and started shaking it, mistaking the intention of the gesture. Ratchet pulled - hard - knocking the general off his feet, face down into the dust. Ratchet quickly dropped down next to him, careful to land on his side so as not to injure Clank.

Petrov was able to say a quick, "That's no way to greet..." when the self destruct in the drophyd ship detonated. There was a flare of energy in all directions outward across the alpha asteroid and a rather large concussion wave. Bits of rock and metal exploded outward in the aftershock and rained down on the two lombaxes. When it was quiet again, Ratchet jumped lightly to his feet, Clank still attached to the connecting bolt. He offered his hand to the older lombax and helped him up.

"Now, _that_," the general started with a huge grin on his face, "was the self destruct of a class 1 drophyd dropship. What a nice way to say 'hello'. Thanks!"

"How did you..." Ratchet began, but was interrupted.

"...know? Trust me, I've seen a lotta drophyd ships explode." He chuckled. "I blew up a helluva lot of 'em myself. So, what's up with the fish?"

Ratchet was still recovering from his initial shock. "That's what we're tryin' t' find out. They're after anything with a sigma three generator. First IRIS, now the station..." Ratchet shook his head slightly and smiled. "It's great t' see ya!"

Clank dropped from the backpack and moved toward Petrov. "I am happy to see you Petrov. But I must admit that we are both somewhat surprised by your arrival. Is everything okay in Leonid?" Clank extended his fist toward Petrov, and Petrov butted it with his own. Ratchet duplicated the gesture.

Petrov's grin widened. "Great t' see ya too!" He looked around at the starfield surrounding him. "Ah, it's nice to be back in Polaris. I never thought I'd see those stars again!" Petrov looked at Clank. "Everything's fine in Leonid. So much so, we pushed the dates a bit." The general looked around at the tiny asteroid. "Uh, not much of a place you've got..."

Ratchet chuckled. "Well, you've only see the rock garden. Wait 'til you see the station!" Ratchet led the general to the teleport cannon and gestured toward the station.

Petrov stared at the Apogee Station and let out a low whistle. "Beautiful work! A sigma three for power. That's a tonna capacity; you must have a huge draw... Ion cannons... Defense grids... Landing bay... What's with the domes?"

Ratchet grinned again. "Talwyn's gotta terrarium layout that'll blow you mind. Speaking of..." He activated his comm unit. "Ratchet here. The drophyds are cleared and the ship destroyed. Stand down the defenses; we're comin' in. Oh, and I've gotta visitor I'd like ya t' meet."

Talwyn's voice echoed across the tiny asteroid, "If it's that damn smuggler and his stupid parrot, tell'em I'm not interested! Cronk and Zephyr will be waiting at the cannon to throw them out an airlock if he so much as sets foot on this station again! Talwyn, out!"

Ratchet shifted slightly, a little embarrassed. "She's not normally like that..."

Petrov, having seen the BetaTex recordings knew far better than to believe that. He looked down to Clank and smiled. Clank nodded in return. "Of course," Petrov said diplomatically with a nod. "Shall we go t' the station? I'm curious about those terrariums, and I'm sure you've gotta lotta questions."

Ratchet nodded and activated the teleport cannon. He sited it in on the station and obtained a lock. Activating the device, the three of them were transported to the station's cannon, near the maintenance elevator. Clank giggled as he always did after a cannon teleport. Petrov looked over the device. "Reg would freak!"

Ratchet looked at Petrov, "But Reg is teleport phobic. I mean, the pads are instantaneous 'n he can barely handle 'em. This, you actually feel..." Petrov's grin took on a slightly more vicious look; both he and Reg did have a rather skewed and sometimes nasty sense of humor. "...oh..." Ratchet concluded softly.

They were interrupted by the clattering sound of Cronk and Zephyr hurrying to the teleporter pad. Both warbots had their weapons fully charged and ready, leveling them at Ratchet and Petrov. "Get yer tail over here, rookie!" Zephyr shouted. "We've gotta deal with this here intruder!"

"It's okay. Put your weapons down," Ratchet said. Cronk and Zephyr looked at each other and complied. But they did not seem happy about it, and sulked a bit. "Lieutenant Commanders Cronk and Zephyr," Ratchet began. At hearing themselves addressed by name and rank, the two warbots drew themselves up to attention in turn. "Allow me to introduce General Petrov Neutrino of the Lombax Defense Ministry. Petrov, this is Cronk and Zephyr."

Petrov smiled and strode forward. He drew himself to attention as well and saluted. Then, relaxing, he addressed them, "Cronk and Zephyr. Ratchet told me you were here. I studied your campaigns during the Phylax Intrusion. Classic strategy! Required reading when I was a cadet."

Cronk was impressed, "Required reading! Hey, not bad, eh rookie? Where was that, Zeph?"

Zephyr replied, "That was at the Zenith Outpost, y'durn fool!"

"You two've seen a lotta action. Anything recent?" Petrov asked them politely.

"Well, we been keepin' the rookies here outta trouble", Zephyr commented, gesturing towards Ratchet and Clank.

"Been kinda tough," Cronk added, nodding to Ratchet. "He keeps gettin' inta all kindsa mischief."

"More action than we've seen fer decades..." Zephyr said.

Ratchet buffed his gloved hand onto his armor. "I try..."

Petrov started laughing. "I'll betcha were a handful growin' up."

Ratchet met his gaze, "Well, you should talk! Doc T told me all kindsa stories..." A shadow passed across Petrov's face at the mention of Doctor Tesseract. Ratchet grew concerned. "What? What happened?"

Petrov shook his head. "He's okay, just gettin' old. Why don't we sit down 'n I'll fill ya in on all things Leonid."

Ratchet glared at Cronk and Zephyr and they moved quickly out of his path. Petrov, Ratchet and Clank got into the lift, followed closely by Cronk and Zephyr. They ascended into the terrarium domes, and Petrov's breath was taken away. "Fantastic! The environments are perfect! The balance..." He reached out to touch the glass panels that separated them from the miniature ecosystems.

Ratchet smiled slightly. He was still worried about Doc T and had tons of questions, but he remembered his reaction when he first saw the interior of the station. "Check this out..." Ratchet led Petrov to the main gallery and to the underwater passage into the central terrarium. "Follow me..." Ratchet dove into the water, Clank enabling his hydro-thruster. Petrov followed a little more slowly, but they eventually came up in Zephyr and Cronk's central 'fishing hole'. The waterfall spilled down to the side of the terrarium, while the grass on the carefully manicured lawns and steps on either side swirled in a light artificial breeze.

Petrov and Ratchet climbed onto the banks beside the fishing hole. Clank dropped from the backpack and move to Ratchet's side. "Beautiful..." Petrov's eyes scanned the entire dome, taking in all of the details, intensely impressed. "Someone spent a lotta time and bolts to get this just right. Amazing! The detail! And lookin' at the design on the way in, pretty secure, too! Nice! You could hold off a siege in here and not even care..."

"I believe it was Max Apogee, Talwyn's father, who designed this station," Clank explained. "She inherited the station when he became missing. We have been trying to locate him, but the drophyds have proved to be a distraction."

"If the drophyds're just a distraction," Petrov said, "they've slipped a bit since Tachyon died. But they weren't all that bright t' start with."

Ratchet led the way to the command center. As they approached, Ratchet called out to Talwyn, "You'll never guess who I ran into on alpha!"

Talwyn turned, blaster in hand. "I thought I told Zephyr and Cronk to deal..." Her eyes darted over Petrov's face and features; his ears, his tail and then stared into his eyes that were currently the color of a summer morning on Fastoon. Talwyn's jaw dropped slightly, "It's another lombax!"

* * *

After the initial introductions were made, the group settled into the terrarium. It was unusual to have this many people on the station at any one time, so this was really the only place that all six could gather in any form of comfort. And with any gathering of that many beings, three of them being organic, one of the first topics that came up was food.

"Don't suppose you've got anythin' to munch on?" Petrov asked. Ratchet and Talwyn looked at each other. Ratchet knew all about (and was somewhat intimidated by) Zephyr's cooking and exotic ingredients, only some of which were actually digestible. Other than that, Talwyn did not have that much in her food storage locker. Ratchet manifested the box of Stylus Shavings and handed it to Petrov. The general looked at Ratchet critically, "You're back on Galaxy Burger already?"

Ratchet hung his head, mildly ashamed. But Petrov was only partly right. "Well, not really. I haven't touched any NutriStix, but other than that cereal and some rather creative waffles the other day..." Zephyr took a slight bow. "...that's about it."

Petrov sounded disappointed, but his ears and tail did not droop in the slightest. In fact, they perked up. "Didn't I teach you anything!" Ratchet was about to protest when Petrov drew five large takeout food containers from his manifestor. Petrov grinned as Ratchet's eyes widened and his ears perked up.

"See! Let that be a lesson t' ya; ya gotta be ready fer anything!" Petrov had suspected that this would be the situation, and had Jacek prepare what was to be his furthest take-out on record.

Ratchet grinned as he looked at the boxes. There was fried pteradon, a burger, spicy polygons, some kind of salad and a new item in a flat box marked only as a 'gravity well' with a list of ingredients, most of which were checked. Sadly, there was no sewer shark, and Ratchet commented on that. "I don't suppose you've got any o' that sludge? And no sewer shark? Petrov, I'm disappointed," Ratchet said with a grin.

Petrov froze, his eyes glued on Ratchet's. "No. Sewer shark needs t' be real fresh and doesn't travel well. But how'd'ya know?"

Ratchet blushed under his fur, but only Zephyr, Cronk and Clank noticed. Cronk nudged Zephyr and nodded in the lombax's direction. "Well," Ratchet began, a little embarrassed, "Clank and Talwyn've been teachin' me t' read lombax. I'm still a little slow, but I'm gettin' better." Clank looked up at Ratchet proudly.

Talwyn turned to the lombax. "I haven't been teaching you..." Ratchet manifested the display pad and showed it to her. She gasped slightly as she recognized it.

"I saw this on your desk 'n borrowed it," he said. "I hope ya don't mind. I went through the lessons your father set up fer you, and Clank's been downloading more for me t' read in flight. I wanted t' surprise you..."

Ratchet's next words were lost as Talwyn gave him a kiss on the muzzle. Petrov's eyes widened slightly, and he grinned. He looked over at Clank. Clank nodded and, very carefully because this was very difficult for him to do, adjusted the frequency of light radiated by his optic sensors. Clank's eyes shifted very briefly from green to pink, back to green. Petrov howled with laughter.

Ratchet and Talwyn looked at each other, Talwyn visibly blushed (Ratchet also blushed, but only those who could see infrared noticed) and they both turned to Petrov. "What?" Ratchet asked.

"Nothin'," Petrov replied, with a distant smile on his face. His eyes had changed slightly to a very pale shade of blue, almost white, and his face took on a somewhat softer look. "You just remind me o' me 'n Cynthia, that's all..."

"Cynthia?" Ratchet asked.

"Cynthia Wavelength. She is... well, was... my wife." Petrov said, somewhat wistfully.

"Petrov! I never knew you were married!" Ratchet was a little surprised by this.

"Well, 'married' isn't right, technically. We bonded. It's kinda the same; the lombax version - less on ceremony, more on mayhem. But, yeah; Cynthia and I bonded young, just after I joined the LDM. We've got two kits actually. Twins. Nicholas is in the LDM off planet. Nichole runs the med center in region nine. I never had time t' introduce ya...

"When we left Fastoon, I was one o' the first through the portal; settin' up and trying t' get things settled on the Leonid side. Cynthia stayed t' the rear. She was gatherin' the last stragglers from the Court of Azimuth; she told me 'sacrifices had t' be made', but promised she'd see me later. She never made it through the portal."

Petrov fell silent, his eyes darkening over as though ominous clouds had suddenly filled the azure skies that were there previously. "I never found out what happened, but Tachyon prob'bly got impatient 'n attacked the last groups. The few that made it were badly hurt."

Petrov fell silent for a while, and then looked into Ratchet's eyes. "That's one reason I pushed ya so hard with the BetaTex. I hoped you'd know somethin', about her or yer dad. Sorry I put ya through that." Petrov looked to the ground. "Lombaxes bond for life..."

Ratchet put his hand on the general's shoulder. "There was nothing you could do."

Petrov's voice was very quiet as he whispered, "I know..." Then he put his hand on Ratchet's, straightened himself and his ears perked back up. "But that was a long time ago," he said, his voice growing stronger.

"Anyway," Petrov continued, "you're right about the sewer shark. But I brought some other treats ya might like. Dig in!"

Ratchet watched Petrov's eyes. They were still a little clouded with the memory of his wife, but there was a sparkle there he did not recognize, as though there was something else that Petrov wasn't telling him. "Seriously, I'm fine." the general said.

Talwyn watched the two lombaxes, put her hand on Ratchet's arm and asked, "I know what they say, but what is everything?" Ratchet turned to her and smiled, going through the various packages with her as Petrov had done with him not so long ago.

* * *

The 'gravity well' device turned out to be a square flatbread, with various meats, vegetables, sauces and cheeses layered on it. It proved to be structurally unstable and very messy to eat, but exceptionally tasty. Petrov, Ratchet and Talwyn ate almost everything that Petrov had brought. The only moment of difficulty was Talwyn's attempt to eat a polygon. The crisp fried vegetables were coated with a large quantity of a number of seasonings, including capsaicin. The lombaxes enjoyed them, but Talwyn almost choked on the sheer heat of the snack. She consumed an entire flask of water and would not touch another. Zephyr made a mental note to himself to remove this from his spice list (he had planned on experimenting with it next time he made waffles), but given the reaction he witnessed decided that it was unwise.

Petrov watched all this with a smile on his face, and he told the others about what had been happening in Leonid since Ratchet and Clank had left.

"You asked about Doc Tesseract. He's okay. He's started rebuilding the prototype. But before I left, I noticed somethin' wrong with his fur."

"Wha'd'ya mean?" Ratchet asked. He knew that Doc's fur looked strange, but thought it was just that he was covering the grey of old age with too much cheap dye.

"It's started fallin' out," Petrov said in a worried tone. "That's a bad sign in a lombax. 'N he won't get it checked. I know he's had fur problems all his life, and's been coverin' his grey fer years, but this could be serious. I told Reg, and he's been on Doc's case about it too, but... well... Doc's stubborn. Reg's tryin' t' get holda Winston, Doc's son in region seven, but kept gettin' 'outta office' messages when I left...

"Reg's doin' well. His popularity got a big boost when ya escaped, especially when Doc 'accidentally' leaked the still o' you at Reg's sled and the vid o' you wavin' on Fastoon. The council wasn't happy, but that was mostly embarrassment and that we didn't fall inta Spiff's trap. Reg's been keepin' to himself a bit lately - not sure what he's up to, but I got some suspicions, and I'm guessin' he's got somethin' big up his glove.

"I'm stuck on the council, o' course. It could be worse. I've been amusin' myself annoyin' Spiff. When he brought up the tracer..."

Ratchet looked at Petrov blankly. "Tracer?"

Petrov smiled. "Ah, yes... A new twist on lombax politics. Spiff decided I should be watched, so I didn't escape again. He proposed t' the LDM that I've gotta wear a trackin' device, so I could be found." Petrov's smile took on a slightly nasty look. "I made sure his plan backfired. Now, everyone's gotta wear 'em, including him! Spiff was ticked! But it actually turned out useful - everyone's gotta show up now, so they... well, we... get stuff done. No more one t' zero votes with eight missin'..."

Ratchet made a sick face. "Sounds like a warped mix of G-SPAN and DreadZone!"

Petrov, who knew all about Ratchet's experiences with Vox, chucked. "It's not far off! It doesn't blow up or do anythin' nasty, but ya can't take it off without a squad o' deputies 'checking' on ya. It's more annoyin' than anything; you wear it on your ankle. I drive the deputies nuts by smashin' it inta stuff. Sets the alarm off without tamperin' with it. Gives 'em some exercise!"

Ratchet's eyes went to Petrov's ankle. "No, I'm not wearin' it. It can't go through a portal; special alloy from the CALR."

Clank blinked at the acronym. "Do you mean the Center for Advanced Lombax Research? I did not know the organization was still viable."

Petrov nodded. "Yup. The Lombax Central Council is the main body. They oversee the LDM and the CALR. The CALR builds the toys and the LDM gets t' play with 'em.

"Anyway, now that the council actually shows up, Spiff's gotta deal with all of us bein' there. So things pass that make sense. Fer example, we ditched the moratorium. The advance scouts are startin' t' come across now. You're lookin' at the first scout!"

Ratchet grinned, stood and with an overly theatrical bow stated, "Welcome to the Polaris galaxy."

Petrov laughed. "Thanks. The others'll be comin' through soon, prob'bly t' Fastoon t' start with. I locked in on you, figurin' you'd be where the fun was. Sure enough, not seconds outta the portal a drophyd ship blows up behind me. Couldn'ta asked fer a nicer greeting."

Ratchet said that he wished he could take credit for that one, but it was not planned that way. He credited Cronk's shooting on the ion cannons for bringing the ship down.

"No matter. Another bit o' political trivia," Petrov continued, "is they passed a few 'special items'. And now, according t' section four zero three paragraph 'b', you and Clank've been pardoned of all charges for openin' a portal 'n, well, bein' infiltrators."

Ratchet looked at Petrov, then Clank, then back to Petrov. "Does this mean..."

Petrov answered before he could even finish. "Yup! Ya can come back anytime ya like without gettin' confined. And, like Reg said, you've got a home waitin' for ya whenever yer ready!"

* * *

Ratchet was numb. He always knew that someday he'd want to go back and see more of the world his people had created; a world of lombaxes. But that had always been tempered with knowing that he wasn't welcome there - not for at least two years, probably more. This meant that he could go earlier than he ever dreamed! And with the apartment gone, he didn't have a permanent home anymore. Except for ...

Talwyn put her hand on his shoulder. She knew how much this meant to Ratchet, and what it meant in general.

There was silence for a moment, and then Ratchet spoke. "Thanks Petrov! I really appreciate it, and I'll definitely take you up on that." He placed his hand on top of Talwyn's. "But we've got some unfinished business here, first."

Petrov nodded. "I know. That's why I'm here. I figured I might help out a bit. Well, officially I'm spyin' fer the council, checkin' out the neighborhood, so t' speak.

"I heard ya mention that you're havin' trouble with IRIS? Somethin' that the fish were causin' problems?"

Ratchet nodded. "Yeah. The drophyds tried t' kill IRIS by disconnecting the sigma three generators. Then they tried t' hit the station. We're not sure what they're up to yet, but we've still gotta bring IRIS back online."

Petrov looked concerned. "Did the emergency batteries hit zero?"

Clank shook his head. "No. Ratchet was able to reconnect the generators before the emergency power depleted. According to the Solana IRIS..."

Petrov held up his hand. "Wait. A _Solana_ IRIS?"

Clank nodded. "Indeed. Apparently, there are IRISes established in multiple galaxies. According to the Solana IRIS, the only action we need to take it to press the reset switch. We have the instructions, but were attacked by the drophyds before we could begin the journey."

Petrov nodded. "So yer next step is t' bring IRIS online and find out what the fish're up to."

Talwyn added, "And to see if she knows where either my father or Ratchet's father are. All of the responses we have heard from her are vague..."

Petrov interrupted, "Not for long. Before I left, Reg gave me the override codes. The Lombax PM is one of IRIS's 'trustees', so t' speak. If there's any info there, we'll find it."

Talwyn, hearing that they had the override codes and might be able to get answers, interrupted. "Petrov, do you have a ship?" He shook his head; he had come in through the dimensional portal on foot. "Okay, you're with me. Cronk, Zephyr, prepare the ship. I'm gonna take a trip to IRIS."

The two warbots looked at each other. Zephyr asked, "Uh, Miss Talwyn, you said 'I'... Yer not thinkin' about leavin' us behind, are ya?"

"Actually, I am," Talwyn replied. "I need you here to defend the station. The drophyds have already tried it once. I want you here to make sure we've got someplace to come back to."

Cronk tried another approach, "But the automated defenses..."

Talwyn answered, "...are just that, automated. If they take out the generator with something long range, the defenses are useless. I want to come back here and not find drophyds in the pond. Got it?"

Zephyr and Cronk did not look at all happy about it, but sulked, "Yes, Miss Talwyn."

"Shall we?" Talwyn asked Petrov. Petrov smiled and bowed slightly, offering his arm to the young woman. She took it, and as Talwyn and Petrov walked to the control room teleporter, Ratchet and Clank could hear Talwyn saying, "You've got to tell me everything you can about lombax daily life. My father and I have a lot of theories, but a lot of questions too."

Petrov nodded to Talwyn, and then looked back over his shoulder to Ratchet and Clank. "By the way Ratchet, I've got your nano-pak, the one ya left with Rich, and some door glove ammo. Don't let me forget..."

* * *


	10. Chapter 08

**Chapter 8: Control, Alternate and Delete**

After Talwyn and Petrov teleported to the landing bay, Ratchet and Clank moved toward the teleporter. Ratchet called ahead to Aphelion to prepare her for the journey. Before they reached the teleporter, however, they were stopped by Zephyr and Cronk. They were still not happy about being left behind. Cronk told the pair, "You rookies better take good care o' Miss Talwyn."

Zephyr nodded. "Or you'll have t' answer t' us!" he added in as menacing a tone as he could.

Ratchet looked at them, nodded and said, "We promise." The warbots let them pass and they teleported into the landing bay.

Aphelion was already prepped and waiting for them. Clank jumped into the co-pilot's seat as usual, but Ratchet's attention was drawn to the lettering under the canopy once again. He traced her name along the lines of the ship, but his eyes were drawn to another word written there in lombax characters. He hopped into Aphelion and the canopy closed behind him. Taking the controls, Ratchet lifted off from the landing bay and out of the asteroid ring. He set a course for the Kreeli Comet and engaged the hyperspace engines. Once the wormhole formed, he asked, "Aphelion, what does 'angel' mean?"

Aphelion's voice seemed puzzled, "I do not understand."

Ratchet continued, "The word 'angel' is written on your hull, nexta your name."

Aphelion paused for a second, and then replied, "I am sorry, Ratchet. I remember seeing the writing you mention in the photograph from the holovid, but I do not have any knowledge of it, or its significance."

Ratchet's ears drooped slightly. "Don't worry 'bout it. Worth a shot..."

Clank looked up at Ratchet, "Perhaps IRIS will have more information about this as well."

Ratchet looked over to Clank. He tried to sound cheerful and replied, "Yeah, probably," but Clank noted that his ears did not perk up in the slightest.

They flew on in silence for a while, Ratchet's eyes fixed on the swirling colors of the wormhole in front of them. After a while, his ears slowly perked back up and asked Aphelion to take over on autopilot. Then Ratchet manifested the practice pad again and selected one of the articles that Clank had downloaded for him on the journey from Solana and began to read. He was finding it easier each time, and his speed was improving.

As they approached the comet, Ratchet put the tablet away and resumed manual control. He carefully landed Aphelion next to Talwyn's ship on the icy slope; there was barely enough room for the two ships to be there at the same time. He climbed out, and Clank jumped directly onto the connecting bolt of the backpack straps. The sudden weight made Ratchet grimace briefly as Clank landed, then he slowly made his way across the icy surface.

The strange silence that had so unnerved the lombax previously was gone. Ratchet could make out the background hum of power feeding the various machines and systems inside the comet, but only if he tried. Otherwise it just faded into the background. But the one sound that was very distinct was laughter. Looking down the slope, he saw Talwyn and Petrov talking to each other. Talwyn had a huge smile on her face as she was saying something to Petrov. Petrov was roaring with laughter, so hard that his ears were shaking. As Ratchet approached, their conversation stopped, but Petrov took one look at the lombax and laughed again. Very slowly he stopped, but Ratchet could see the mirth in his eyes. He could not get over a very uncomfortable feeling... "Uh, what'd I miss?"

Petrov looked at the younger lombax, tears standing in his eyes from laughing so hard. "Nothin' much." Becoming more serious, Petrov looked around. "So, how'd'we get in?"

Ratchet smiled and let them back up the slope to where the two ships were parked. A teleport pad appeared in front of them. Petrov chuckled, "I see you've been practicin' with Reg's..." Petrov paused and looked closely at Ratchet. "Who's your tailor, Tiny?"

Talwyn chuckled and repeated to herself, "Tiny?" Ratchet had somehow omitted the nickname from his retelling of the events in Leonid.

Ratchet cringed slightly, hearing Talwyn repeat the nickname. "Al. Reg's cap was a bit, well, big. Al copied the technology inta my cap. He improved on the design a bit too." He removed the cap and handed it to Petrov.

Petrov looked over the helmet with the eye of a fine craftsman. (After all, he was a lombax too and knew quality hardware when he saw it.) He carefully examined the interior, removing his glove and feeling for the raritanium wiring and sensors countersunk beneath the leather. He looked at the array of studs on the outer surface, and noted the redundant connections and the stability of it. Finally, he looked critically at the helmet as a whole.

He handed the cap back to Ratchet. "This guy's an artist!" he said excitedly. "That's some o' the finest detail work I've seen fer a while, and certainly the best I've seen around Polaris. You sure this guy's not part lombax?"

Ratchet chuckled, putting his cap back on. "Positive. But he's _really_ good. In fact, he offered to make more anytime I want. I already hafta get one for Talwyn, but I know you've been bugging Reg for one; maybe I can hook ya up..." Petrov's eyes glowed with the thought, and Ratchet continued, "but it'll cost ya." Petrov's eyes dimmed a little and his ears drooped. Ratchet continued, enjoying the moment, especially after having seen the general laughing at Talwyn's unknown comments earlier. "He's dyin' for a tour of New Fastoon, and I promised t' take him. We'll have t' show him around."

Petrov's ears perked back up. "Is that all? If he's this good, maybe we can get him t' open a shop and move in permanently!"

Ratchet could easily imagine Al's reaction to that offer. Nodding and smiling, Ratchet said, "He might like that..." Ratchet (with Clank riding on the backpack) stepped onto the teleporter pad, followed closely by Petrov and Talwyn. In a flash of energy, they were gone.

* * *

Ratchet, Clank, Petrov and Talwyn stood outside the main entrance to IRIS's central console chamber. Most of them had been there before, but this was the first time Petrov had seen the core of IRIS in person. Looking around at the monitors that lined the walls of the spherical chamber, he drew a deep breath and let out a low whistle of appreciation.

Clank dropped to his feet and proceeded to the data entry port, near the central console ring. Taking the data feed cable, he attached it to his hyperband port. "It appears that the emergency batteries have been restored to 100 percent capacity," Clank said. "In addition, the primary cells are currently at 70 percent capacity and climbing steadily. At this rate, IRIS should achieve full power in under one hour."

Clank's hand moved to the tiny flashing light, and pressed it. There was a flicker on the screens surrounding them, but nothing appeared immediately. "Ratchet, I am watching the system restart sequence. Everything appears to be automatic. No error messages have been issued." Clank disconnected the data feed. "IRIS should be online very soon."

Clank had barely spoken the words when the monitors all switched on, each one showing a different display. The central monitor glowed with power, but remained blank. After a few seconds, they heard IRIS's voice say, "Hello, Talwyn. Thank you for repairing me."

Talwyn blinked. "Actually, that was Clank. And Ratchet hooked up your generators before."

IRIS paused for a moment, and then said, "When you see them, please convey my deepest appreciation."

They looked at each other. Something was very wrong.

"IRIS," Ratchet began, "I'm standing right here." Silence.

"IRIS!" Ratchet shouted. Silence.

"IRIS, are you experiencing difficulty with your sensors," Clank asked. Silence.

"IRIS, what's wrong?" Talwyn asked.

"There is nothing wrong, Talwyn. All of my systems are fully functional." IRIS's voice was perfectly calm.

Talwyn looked at Ratchet. "IRIS, tell me about Ratchet."

IRIS answered quickly. "Ratchet. A lombax adventurer credited with saving three galaxies from significant peril, one of them multiple times. Raised on planet Veldin in the Solana galaxy, most recently credited with overthrowing and destroying Emperor Percival Tachyon. Current status: missing."

Ratchet's head spun to face the central monitor. "Missing?!" he shouted.

Talwyn continued, "IRIS, tell me about Clank."

Once again, IRIS answered. "Clank. Partial serial number B5429671. Manufactured as a sentry robot on planet Quartu in the Solana galaxy. As partner to Ratchet, Clank is credited with saving three galaxies from significant peril, one of them multiple times. He also portrays the title character for the Secret Agent Clank holovid series produced by Holostar Studios. Current status: missing."

Talwyn nodded and the group became silent. A pattern was beginning to develop. "IRIS, tell me about Petrov Neutrino."

"Petrov Neutrino. A commander in the Lombax Defense Ministry. Served in the Drophyd war under Prime Minister Charles Neutrino, his father. Decorated multiple times for heroism, he is single handedly responsible for defeating the drophyds in the battle for Meridian City. Bonded to Cynthia Wavelength. Current status: missing."

"Commander?" Petrov noted. "I haven't been 'commander' for over twenty years! When was the last update." Silence.

Talwyn repeated Petrov's question, "IRIS, when was Petrov Neutrino listed as missing?"

IRIS answered, "Approximately twenty four years ago."

Petrov thought about it. "Twenty four years..." He looked at Ratchet. "That would be about right. Ask about Ratchet."

Talwyn asked, "IRIS, when was Ratchet listed as missing?"

"Approximately eight days ago."

"And Clank."

"Approximately eight days ago."

Petrov nodded. "All of these match when we first went to New Fastoon..."

Clank looked up at Petrov. "A worm..." Petrov nodded.

Ratchet put his hand on his chin and looked at the monitors. "So, basically, anyone that sets foot on New Fastoon gets erased?"

Clank corrected him. "That is not completely accurate. The record is still there, but IRIS apparently can no longer trace our actions from that point."

Talwyn nodded. "My father was also listed as missing... Maybe he went to New Fastoon..." She looked at the monitor. "IRIS, when was Max Apogee listed as missing."

IRIS responded, "Approximately eight years ago."

Petrov looked at Talwyn. "I want you to repeat what I say exactly. I'm not sure if IRIS can hear me, but she can hear you. Okay?" Talwyn nodded. "IRIS, this is Minister Petrov Neutrino of the Lombax Central Council. Access override code sigma upsilon dash pi digamma delta two three five seven prime submit."

Talwyn just looked at Petrov, shook her head and started to say, "Slow down..." when all of the monitors surrounding them shut down. They looked at each other. So IRIS could hear them, just not acknowledge them.

IRIS's voice changed to a much flatter, more mechanical tone. "Acknowledged."

Petrov looked at the group. "The CALR gave me a bit o' training about how to do this. Let me..." The others nodded, and Petrov took over. "IRIS, can you hear me?"

IRIS (I): "Yes."  
Petrov (P): "Do you know who this is?"  
I: "You are Commander Petrov Neutrino of the Lombax Defense Ministry."  
P: "What is my current location?"  
I: "That information has been deleted."  
P: "What is Ratchet's current location?"  
I: "That information has been deleted."  
P: "Why was the information deleted?"  
I: "That information was related to directive two four six zero two."

Ratchet blinked. "Wow. That's a coincidence!" Petrov looked at him very strangely. Ratchet returned his gaze. "That was my prisoner number when I was in Galattica..."

Petrov said, "That's also the code number of the Keeper."

The others continued to stare at Ratchet. He felt a little uncomfortable under their gaze, forced a chuckle and muttered, "Prob'bly just a coincidence... What're the odds..."

I: "The probability is one in one billion, one hundred ninety six million, three hundred ninety eight thousand, five hundred twenty eight."

Clank looked up sharply. "IRIS, how did you derive that probability?"

I: "The probability is derived based on the current records of Galattica prison and the former population of the lombax volunteer pool.

Petrov gasped. "What was the size of the lombax volunteer pool?"

I: "Twenty six thousand, one hundred four."

Petrov nodded. "That's about how many were on Fastoon at the end o' the war. IRIS, identify volunteer number one one four zero three from that pool."

I: "Volunteer number one one four zero three is identified as Petrov Neutrino."

Petrov smiled, and explained, "Each lombax that volunteered to be Keeper was given a code number so that IRIS's selection would be impartial and anonymous. My dad 'n the others in the LDM were only given the numbers..." He moved over to Ratchet and put his hand on the lombax's shoulder. "IRIS, identify volunteer number two four six zero two from that pool."

Ratchet looked into Petrov's face and smiled.

I: "That information has been deleted."

Ratchet's ears and tail plummeted, and his smile wiped away in an instant. Petrov swore.

P: "IRIS, identify Ratchet's father."  
I: "That information has been deleted."  
P: "Why?"  
I: "That information was related to directive two four six zero two."  
P: "Define directive two four six zero two."  
I: "Command - Delete all information with reference to ... that information has been deleted."

Petrov swore again.

Ratchet (R): "IRIS, why was Max Apogee listed as missing?"  
I: "That information was related to directive two four six zero two."

Talwyn looked at Ratchet. "So my father was involved with the lombax migration, and must have been connected to New Fastoon." Ratchet nodded.

R: "IRIS, what is Aphelion?"  
I: "Aphelion. A lombax chi class fighter, equipped with a fully sentient robot intelligence. Current pilot: Ratchet."  
R: "Who was Aphelion's last pilot?"  
I: "That information has been deleted."  
R: "IRIS, what's 'angel' on Aphelion's hull mean?"  
I: "That information has been deleted."  
R: "IRIS, what information do you have related to New Fastoon?"  
I: "There is no information available that matches that pattern."

Ratchet sighed and shook his head. This was going nowhere.

Petrov looked at the others. "Everything related to New Fastoon or the Keeper's been deleted. And now we know Max is somehow involved, and may've been t' New Fastoon." He looked at Ratchet. "And we're pretty sure you're the Keeper's son. Nothin' we didn't kinda already know, but at least it's confirmed. Anything else?"

Ratchet said, "Yes." He looked at Petrov very sadly, and said, "Your wife..."

Petrov hung his head, and sat down on the floor. Closing his eyes, he took a few deep breaths, paused for a second, and then asked, very quietly, "IRIS, what information do you have about Cynthia Wavelength?" Ratchet moved behind him and put his hands on the old lombax's shoulders.

IRIS gave him the answer. "Cynthia Wavelength. A lombax adventurer born on Fastoon to Zeke Wavelength and Aurora Van Allan. Credited with underground resistance activities against Emperor Percival Tachyon in Meridian City and the liberation of fifteen lombax activists. Bonded to Petrov Neutrino. Executed by Percival Tachyon's personal guard approximately twenty four years ago. Current status: deceased."

Petrov lowered his head into his hands and sobbed quietly. Ratchet stood behind him, hands on his shoulders, trying to comfort him.

After a few minutes, Petrov looked up at Ratchet, his blue eyes dark and rimmed with tears. But he smiled slightly. "Thank you, Ratchet. At least now... I know." He looked up at the main display. "IRIS..." His voice broke, and he shook his head. Starting over, in a slightly stronger voice, Petrov said, "IRIS, this is Minister Petrov Neutrino of the Lombax Central Council. Exit override code sigma upsilon dash pi digamma delta two three five seven prime submit."

I: "Acknowledged."

The screens surrounding them illuminated again, showing displays of events across the galaxy. Ratchet sat down next to Petrov. Petrov looked at the younger lombax and quietly said, "I'll be okay. Just gimme a minute..."

* * *

Talwyn stood by the doorway that led to IRIS's central console. She had contacted Cronk and Zephyr via hyperband and updated them on their current status, and was now trying to locate Qwark again.

"Damn. I can't find him. Where's Qwark?" she asked.

She was close enough to the console for IRIS to hear her. IRIS responded in her normal voice, "Copernicus Leslie Qwark is currently on the planet Ardolis." All eyes drifted up to the central display.

Talwyn dashed into the console sphere again. "Why didn't I think o' that before? IRIS, where's Rusty Pete?"

I: "Rusty Pete is currently on the planet Ardolis."  
Talwyn (T): "What are they doing there?"  
I: "The drophyds attacked the pirate radio station on Ardolis. Rusty Pete and Copernicus Leslie Qwark attempted to prevent the drophyds from stealing the pirates' sigma three power generation system."

Ratchet shook his head. "What's the big deal about this kinda generator?"

Talwyn shrugged her shoulders. "I dunno. Let's find out. IRIS, why do the drophyds want a sigma three generator?"

IRIS's answer chilled everyone in the room. "The sigma three generator is the only portable energy source of lombax origin with sufficient capacity to power their experimental interdimensional warship."

There was silence for a full minute, and then Ratchet asked, "Where's the ship now?" Silence. Talwyn repeated the question.

I: "The warship is docked on the drophyd homeworld of Zaurik."  
T: "Did the drophyds succeed in stealing the sigma three?"  
I: "Yes."

Clank looked up at Ratchet, "We must destroy that warship."

Ratchet nodded. "Talwyn, see if IRIS is back to full power and if she has any kind of defenses against the drophyds." Talwyn repeated the question.

IRIS responded, "Full defensive capability has been restored along with my power generation capability. I am now at 100 percent capacity."

Ratchet nodded. Talwyn told IRIS, "Good. The drophyds may try to attack you again. You should defend yourself if they try!"

IRIS's soft voice had an uncharacteristic edge as she answered, "I intend to."

Ratchet, Clank and Petrov moved to the teleport pad. Just as Talwyn stepped onto the pad as well, IRIS said, "Thanks again for restoring me. If you see Ratchet and Clank, please pass along my thanks to them as well..."

* * *


	11. Chapter 09

**Chapter 9: Gone Fishing**

The wormhole's colors swam along the edges of the ship. Aphelion stayed to the port side of the wormhole, while Talwyn's ship followed them closely behind just off the starboard. Over the communication channel, they were discussing strategy.

"I'm surprised the drophyds had enough brains t' rig anything trans-d," Petrov's voice remarked through the speakers. "Prob'bly somethin' Tachyon started, and they're just finishin' up."

"Probably," Ratchet replied. "But something that big must need a lotta power."

"But it must have a lot of firepower, too," Talwyn warned. "It's probably not maneuverable, but if it ever gets close..."

Petrov interrupted, "Yeah, big 'n slow, but with a helluva punch. But it's just like the fish t' put everything they got inta one ship."

Ratchet grinned, "One nice, big, slow ship stuck in a dock somewhere!"

Aphelion broke in, "Incoming message from Captain Qwark."

Ratchet was startled, "Put him on, and relay him to Talwyn too."

Qwark's voice was a little panicky, but that was nothing new. "Strong Jaw to Dead Meat. Strong Jaw to Dead Meat. Come in Dead Meat."

Ratchet replied, "Dead Me... Uh... Ratchet here. Where've you been, Qwark?"

Qwark calmed down significantly hearing Ratchet's voice. "Where've I been? I've been protecting the planet Ardolis from the horrific attack of hoards of ravenous drophyd marauders, bent on our utter destruction! But with steadfast determination, and the sheer magnitude of my awesome leadership, we were able to repel their insidious advances and drive them from the sector!"

Ratchet rolled his eyes, "Meaning, you hid while they stole the sigma three power generator from the pirate radio station."

Qwark replied back in a somewhat less than epic voice, "'Stole' is such a harsh word, given the circumstances..."

Ratchet had no time for this. "Look, we're on our way t' deal with the drophyds now. Talwyn 'n Petrov're in the other ship. Are you okay? Do you need help?"

"Pete and I have been continuing my piracy lessons!" Qwark gave no indication that he heard a single word that Ratchet had said, and did not notice that Petrov had joined them. "In fact, we have devised a cunning plan for a counter-strike! Operation Shark Chum!"

Clank shook his head and raised his hand to cover his eyes. Ratchet sighed. He knew where this was going already...

Qwark detailed his master plan, complete with what passed as detailed diagrams and schematics. "The drophyd homeworld of Zaurik is almost completely covered with a briny ocean, with only one major land mass above the surface. There are multiple ground to air ion cannon installations ringing this island. Ratchet, codename Dead Meat, will hurl himself from his vessel and plunge down to the surface of the planet, dodging multiply volleys of incoming seeker missiles. Once he reaches the ground, Dead Meat will have mere seconds to disable the automated defense systems that shoot deadly, venom tipped projectiles at any organic matter that touches the surface. From there, Dead Meat will have to comb the island, destroying each of the highly fortified ion cannons, avoiding the school of deadly zombie ninja panda bears that patrol the area. If, I mean, when you succeed in destroying the cannons, you will be able to land your vessel on the single landing pad in the center of the island. From here it is just a matter of destroying the central research complex and the manufacturing facilities, hidden somewhere below the surface of the ocean! With those destroyed, you, Dead Meat, will be able to salvage the sigma three generator and return it here, for the greater glory of The Dread Pirate Ratchet, and his illustrious crew of cut throat scourges!"

Ratchet heard a faint giggle on the comm link, as Talwyn muttered, "The Dread Pirate Ratchet?" followed by a quick choking noise and an immediate click from the audio pickup being disabled. Ratchet didn't even want to think about the laughter in the other ship...

The lombax took a deep breath to steady himself, and then responded, "Thanks Qwark. We're on our way. Operation, uh, 'Shark Chum' is a go... Ratchet out." Aphelion disconnected the link, and they flew on in silence for a few minutes. After some time, Aphelion announced an incoming transmission from Talwyn. "Yeah?"

Ratchet had to admit; they had either laughed themselves out, or were putting up a really good front. The only words that came over the link before they switched off the audio feed again were Petrov's, "I admire your patience..."

* * *

They emerged from the wormhole about twenty minutes later near the planet Zaurik. Aphelion's remote scan of the planet's surface showed that Qwark's information was surprisingly accurate; at least 95 of the surface was covered with an ocean of highly concentrated brine. The remaining landmass appeared to be a landscape of broken rock, crumbling stone and plates of flat bedrock, similar to the soil covered plates on Veldin. A number of fortifications had been created along the perimeter of the primary landmass, carved into the rock by energy weapons. Towering ion cannons stood centered in these fortifications, sweeping the sky below them, awaiting their arrival. There were signs of numerous smaller defensive installations; possibly Qwark's seeker missile launchers. But there were no signs of organic life on the surface, so Qwark's 'Ninja Pandas' were probably just another of his delusions.

"I'm not equipped for a HALO jump," Talwyn's voice said over the comm link. "My ship's not designed for autopilot."

Ratchet grinned, "That's okay. I'll take out the cannons and meet ya on the surface. Petrov, I'm kind of assumin' you're armed, right?"

Petrov chuckled, "Got my buzz blades and my omega cannon! Don't leave home without 'em!"

That was a new one by Ratchet. "What's an omega cannon?"

Ratchet could almost picture Petrov's face as he explained it. "The omega cannon's the latest toy from the CALR," Petrov began. "Still experimental; this is kinda its first field test. Take the best bits o' the shard reaper, the alpha cannon and your beast of a RYNO. What ya get's a helluva nice toy that gives ya a dozen small alpha disruptor shots in a scatter pattern with each pull o' the trigger. The smaller shots are weaker than an alpha cannon, but y' get a much quicker recharge time and faster rate o' fire. Guaranteed t' turn a drophyd squadron inta sushi in microseconds. On sale soon at a lombax vendor near you!"

Ratchet grinned at the sales pitch. "I'll take it!"

"Well, when ya get back to New Fastoon, I can hook ya up. But it'll cost ya..." Petrov's voice had an edge to it, almost a warning.

"Sounds expensive," Ratchet joked.

"You have no idea..." Petrov said, with a strange note of seriousness in his voice.

"Okay. Maybe later. Meanwhile, we're ready for the HALO jump."

"Meet ya on the ground, Tiny!" Petrov said.

Talwyn whispered, "Be careful..."

"Ready, Clank?" Ratchet asked. Clank looked at him and nodded. "Aphelion, we'll let you know when it's clear t' land." Ratchet pressed the ejector control and braced himself. The canopy popped open and the seats pushed him and Clank upward, away from the ship. Ratchet grabbed on to Clank's arm in a well practiced gesture and brought him close to the connecting bolt. Clank grabbed on and activated his thruster upgrade.

Ratchet and Clank had jumped like this many times in the past, but there was an art to it. The lombax didn't want to admit it, but he always loved freefall; as much as he enjoyed his hoverbike and rocket sled, if not more. It was the rush of speed and the wind on his muzzle, as he closed his eyes to slits against the force of the air. But he knew that he had to pay attention and that this was serious business. Speed was not the most important thing; he had to dodge and dive, trying to move as much as possible to avoid the locks of the incoming missiles. Seeing the dust plumes below him, he knew that there were some on their way.

Ratchet abruptly tilted himself to the right remaining as flat as possible, causing his descent to slice to his right and his speed to hold relatively steady. The first of the seeker missiles missed him to the left where he would have been had he not moved. Ratchet adjusted again, tilting his head forward into a sharper dive. This both changed his velocity and moved him forward, the next missile passing a few centicubits below his boots.

The shifting and twisting decent continued for nearly a minute. Ratchet managed to dodge most of the missiles, but one did come uncomfortably close to his feet. It detonated, and Ratchet could feel the pain as some of the fragments made it through his armor. The nanotech in his system quickly repaired the damage, but that was an extremely finite resource, and he was a bit mad at himself for not dodging quickly enough. Fortunately, Clank was uninjured.

As he neared the ground, Ratchet and Clank both got a very good overhead view of the layout of the island landmass. There was a rather well defended central landing pad, and the beaches surrounding the island were composed of a smooth sand and pebble mix, somewhat coarser than Pokitaru and certainly less hospitable. There were seven ion cannons surrounding the island, each one blasted into the rock along the beach. Ratchet could see very little cover, so it would be difficult to get to them without being seen. He'd need something long range; maybe his alpha cannon or the judicator.

Ratchet could also see the research building that Qwark had mentioned. But there was no other building. Instead, he saw a massive vessel, the warship, parked on the surface of the island near the landing pad. The spacecraft, if you could even call it that due to its sheer size, sported multiple ion cannon turrets along with some other bumps and protrusions that seemed rather dangerous looking. Nearby, resting off to the side of the massive ship, was the sigma three generator. It had not yet been installed in the ship, and was relatively unprotected (assuming you could get to Zaurik, get passed the ion cannons, the venom projectiles and whatever else Qwark may have missed). He remembered Petrov's comments and he was right; without Tachyon, the drophyds weren't all that bright. Ratchet rolled very slowly and carefully in midair, giving Clank a clear view of the surroundings as well.

One detail that struck Ratchet as he neared the surface was that everything on Zaurik, or at least what was visible above the water's surface, was very obviously of lombax origin. The architecture and all of the structures that he could see, including the ion cannons, landing pads and gantry ways, were all very similar to what he had seen on Fastoon. Probably all stolen by Tachyon, no doubt. It was most certainly the last fringes of the empire, as all of the other worlds started rebellions to drive the drophyds out after Tachyon fell.

* * *

Clank fired his thruster pack and Ratchet pulled into a standing position as they approached the ground. The braking maneuver slowed their decent enough so that Ratchet could land with reasonable grace on the surface of Zaurik. But he did not stay still. As soon as he made contact with the ground, he noticed that a number of small turrets popped up from the surface of the island. They reminded Ratchet very much of the projectile installations that Qwark used to protect his base on Umbris. Not good!

Ratchet jumped as high as he could and dove to the right. He could see projectiles striking the ground and tracing the line to where he had been standing. The line of fire followed his movements, adjusting the angle to track his location. But the shots remained at the same level to the ground; the turrets were programmed for a single plane of fire, and could not adjust upward. Ratchet nodded; that was certainly good news for him. It made things easier. Not by much, but a little...

With both of them keeping a very careful watch for additional turrets, Ratchet performed a number of leaps and dodges, all the time working towards the turret. When he reached it, he smashed it with his wrench, disabling it. But there were still many more of them to deal with. His eyes were drawn to the raised landing pad that stood above the level of fire. With more turrets activating every moment, he performed a series of leaps and rolls, staying ahead of the stream of projectiles, until he landed on the pad's surface. Here, he found a series of controls that were built into the base of the pad near the edge. It was labeled as 'turret control' in lombax. With a smile at how quickly his lessons had paid off, he deactivated them.

He looked up, across the island. The ion cannons were not firing. They remained inert, searching the skies and waiting. But without the shots to trace back to their origin, Ratchet could not locate them from the ground as easily because of all of the rocky ledges. Fortunately, Clank could. The midair roll was enough to allow Clank to see and remember the locations of the ion cannons from the air.

Following Clank's directions, Ratchet worked his way carefully to the first cannon. The heavy fortifications he saw from the air were not nearly as bad as he expected when he saw them at ground level. Most of the shielding and rock was designed to protect against an aerial assault. There were gaps in the plating that he might be able to slip through, and possibly shoot through. In addition, there was a bolt crank nearby that looked very promising...

Ratchet moved to the first bolt crank, locked his omniwrench on it, and turned it. As he watched, the gap he had noticed earlier widened, and the plate that had covered it from ground level rotated out of the way. This must be a maintenance access port to allow the drophyds (or whoever was helping them) to get into the cannon's interior. Whatever the reason, it was certainly helpful for him.

After the crank locked in place, Ratchet armed his alpha cannon. He looked at it, thinking about the omega cannon that Petrov mentioned. It sounded nice, but the lombax liked the idea of one very powerful shot for something like this. Taking careful aim, he fired into the exposed energy core of the cannon. It exploded into thousands a fragments and left a smoking crater in the rock where it had been anchored. One down, six more to go...

* * *

Ratchet did not encounter any resistance at all from the drophyds as he destroyed the ion cannons one by one. This really started to bother him, as though he had missed something. It was similar to the feeling he had on IRIS, more that there was an absence of a threat when there should have been one. It felt like a trap.

Once the last cannon was destroyed, Ratchet decided to take out the sigma three generator; permanently. Standing on the landing pad, he charged the alpha cannon to its maximum capacity and fired directly into the pulsing mechanism. The alpha cannon ripped through it, shattering the outer core, exposing the singularity briefly. It flared into a significant explosion, then winked out of existence. The explosion caused some damage to the warship, but the ship still looked structurally sound. But without power, it was not going anywhere.

"Ratchet, this is Talwyn." Her voice came over his comm link. "We've been watching your progress. We're coming down."

Ratchet immediately blurted out, "No. Stay there. Something's wrong. It doesn't feel right. This has to be a trap."

"I know, Tiny," Petrov's voice broke in. "This whole thing stinks t' Fastoon. But we won't know what the fish're up to until we spring it. Keep yer eyes open and watch yer back!"

Talwyn and Petrov lowered themselves very slowly and carefully onto the landing pad. There was no sign of resistance, and no sign of life. The silence had Ratchet on edge, and he was jumping at every motion, or imagined motion. Talwyn's ship landed and the main hatch opened. Petrov very cautiously made his way out. He was holding a weapon that had a conical barrel with multiple energy transfer heads similar to his alpha cannon; probably the omega cannon he spoke of. Talwyn remained in the ship, thrusters burning.

"Hi, Tiny," Petrov said, his eyes darting everywhere but at the younger lombax. His words echoed over the island. The only other sound was the lapping waters of the ocean on the shore. "Kinda quiet, ain't it?"

"Yeah," Ratchet replied, stating the obvious. Still no sign of any resistance, or the drophyds. If this was their homeworld, they were not doing much about the damage the invaders caused. "Maybe we should get outta here..."

"What? And spoil the surprise?" Petrov's eyes continued to watch every direction possible. "The fish're dumb, but this is excessive, even fer them."

"Where's Aphelion?" Ratchet asked.

Petrov looked up, "In reserve, just in case. Talwyn, kill the engines."

Talwyn shut down the thrusters and the ship came to a rest on the pad. Slowly she made her way to the hatch. As she stepped out of the ship, a voice began ranting from the direction of the warship. It was a voice that Ratchet thought he had stilled forever.

Tachyon's recording raged out over the waves from some form of public address system. "My people, I may be gone, but my final command to you is this: find those that killed me. Whoever they are! Avenge my death! Destroy them! Whatever the price! Destroy them! Destroy their families, their friends, their species! Wipe them from the pages of history itself!"

* * *


	12. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: Desolation**

Petrov swore. The ocean surrounding the island began to boil; not with steam, but with the bubbles and motion as drophyds emerged from the surface. Hundreds of them. Thousands. Most were not wearing armor, but instead were merely protected by their hydrospheres mounted on top of the some type of flight mechanisms that lifted them above the surface of Zaurik.

Talwyn drew her blaster. Petrov fired wave after wave of omega disruptor blasts, shredding entire sections of the drophyd ring. They still kept coming. Ratchet put his alpha cannon away in favor of his incinerator. The jets of fire worked very well against the drophyds' environmental bubbles, and they flopped to the ground, gasping for 'breath', defenseless. Still, they kept coming.

"Talwyn, get those engines started!" Petrov roared above the sound of the drophyds and the waves crashing on the beach. Talwyn dove back into the ship and primed the thrusters. Petrov looked at Ratchet. "The warship was just bait. The fish must've attacked the generators tryin' t' lure you here and take you out. First time any fish has shown the brains..."

There was a flash of light as an energy weapon discharged from the direction of the warship. The beam sliced through the waves of drophyds in its path and struck Petrov from behind. Petrov stiffened and fell at Ratchet's feet.

Ratchet looked down at Petrov. The trillium alloy armor he wore had a five centicubit hole melted through the center of the plate on Petrov's back. The blast had burned through his fur, his skin, his muscle and down to the lombax's spine and ribcage. The red, raw flesh glistened moistly for a moment, and then turned a shade of shimmering blue as the nanotech in his system attempted to repair the damage. But Petrov did not move.

Ratchet saw this, but it did not register. Nothing registered. Nothing mattered. There were no thoughts, no feelings, no senses. Nothing. The only thing that registered was a high pitched whine in his ears and the sight of Petrov's body convulsing briefly. All of the rage he felt turned to ice, colder than the void between the stars. Without any thought or emotion, his RYNO appeared in his hand. He raised it and pulled the trigger. Repeatedly. He turned in a small circle, pulling the trigger. Faster! When the RYNO was empty, his judicator manifested... Faster!

* * *

There was a slight electrical shock on his back. He ignored it. "Ratchet!" Another shock. He ignored it. "RATCHET!" Three shocks, increasing in strength, until the last one jarred him.

"Ow! Clank! What's the deal?" Ratchet's voice rang over the stillness.

Clank dropped from his back. "Ratchet, look at me!" Clank commanded. Ratchet had never seen him so serious before. The lombax looked into his eyes. Clank noticed that Ratchet's eyes still had a wild look to them.

"Ratchet, calm down. Do you know where we are?"

Ratchet looked around and it started to fill in. Zaurik. Drophyds.

PETROV!

He ran to the general's side. Talwyn was already there, cleaning the wound with the portable medkit from her ship. Petrov groaned slightly, saw Ratchet and said in a very weak voice, "I toldya to remind me about the nano-pak..." He closed his eyes, lost consciousness again and slumped on the landing pad. Ratchet looked up to Talwyn. There were no drophyds anywhere to be seen.

"He's in bad shape," she said. "Your nano-pak kicked in and bought a little time, but there's no nanotech around anywhere. The medkit's already depleted. We've got to get him to a med center."

So that's what that whine was when Petrov convulsed. Ratchet looked at her ship. "Do you have a nanogenerator?"

Talwyn quietly answered, "No..."

Ratchet activated his comm link and shouted, "Aphelion, I need you. NOW!"

There was no response, but about one minute later Aphelion roared in at full throttle to stop above the island. She carefully set down on the sand and rock. The canopy swung open.

"Help me get 'm into the pilot's seat!" Ratchet shouted. It took all three of them to lift the rather large (and heavy) lombax into Aphelion, and he was dumped unceremoniously into the cockpit. Petrov groaned as he landed harshly, his head face down in the leg well. "Aphelion, as soon as you clear atmosphere pump 'm full of as much nanotech as you've got. Keep the nanogenerators running and keep hitting 'm. Talwyn, get 'm t' the station. Have Cronk and Zephyr prep the med center. Take care of 'm."

Talwyn hesitated for a second, looked into Ratchet's eyes, shuddered and climbed into the co-pilot's seat. As she did so, she asked, "What about you?"

Ratchet looked at Talwyn's ship, with the thrusters started and idling. In a chilling, emotionless voice, he said flatly, "I'm not done yet."

Talwyn shuddered again as Aphelion's canopy came down over her and Petrov. Aphelion took off under autopilot, and climbed steeply into the upper atmosphere. Ratchet could see the wormhole open from the surface, and in a sudden flash of color they were gone. He saw that the comm link was still open, and whispered, "Take care of them, Aphelion. Thank you." before shutting down the device.

Clank continued to stare at Ratchet, somewhat warily. "Ratchet, what do you plan to do? You have, by my count, used all of the ammunition for every major offensive weapon in your manifestor that I am aware of. The drophyds have retreated back under the ocean's surface."

Ratchet looked around. The remnants of the warship continued to smolder, its melted skin still glowing from the heat of his firepower. Ratchet looked at the ocean and at Talwyn's ship. "I'll show you."

They boarded Talwyn's ship and lifted off from the pad. Ratchet had to fight with the controls a little; they seemed far heavier and less responsive then he was used to. But then, he was used to flying Aphelion...

Ratchet guided the ship over the ocean where the wreck of the warship lay. Lifting to about 100 cubits above the surface of the water, he told Clank, "Take the controls and hold it steady." Clank did so, a somewhat quizzical look in his eyes. Ratchet manifested the cone glove. Clank shook his head, fearing for his friend's sanity as Ratchet produced one of the orange defense cones and held it out the hatch of the ship. "Ratchet, defense cones are not weapons. They..."

Ratchet dropped the activated cone straight down. The metallic probe remained extended for the length of time it took for the cone to reach the surface. It made contact with the briny water and discharged. A curtain of bright blue plasma lashed the surface of the water for a radius of a little over two kilocubits. The water glowed with submerged electrical discharges as the cone slowly sank beneath the surface. A smell of ozone filled the air and Ratchet's fur stood on end as charged steam rose from the boiling water around Talwyn's ship. After about a minute, the cone burned out and the eerie glow beneath the surface of the water died. Ratchet didn't know if there were many drophyds down there before he dropped the cone, but he was certain there were none there now.

Ratchet looked into Clank's eyes and asked, "Any questions?"

* * *

Ratchet very slowly and deliberately piloted Talwyn's craft in an ever widening spiral around the island, dropping cone after cone of electric death into the water. There was no sign of any drophyds or any counter-attack.

At first, Ratchet was emotionless about the entire situation. But gradually he began to revert more to his usual self. It made him sad, and in some ways he hoped that the drophyds had fled the area. But any time he weakened, he thought of Petrov. Of Cynthia. Of the lombaxes. He needed to make a point.

Eventually, after nearly two hours had passed, Ratchet was nearly down to his last few cones. He had been very precise throughout the entire bombardment, covering as much territory as possible. As he stopped the ship to hover over another area, his comm link chimed. "Ratchet here."

Petrov's voice, sounding weak and sleepy but very much alive came back to him. "What in Fastoon do you think yer doin'? Get your tail back here! Now!"

At the sound of Petrov's voice, the cone glove returned to his manifestor. Ratchet smiled. "You're the one that keeps tellin' _me_ to watch _my_ back!"

There was a coughing chuckle on the other end of the link. "Yeah... Look, Tiny, before Talwyn finds out I snuck out, I just wanted to tell ya..."

Ratchet heard a shout and Talwyn's voice rang out, "Get back in bed and get to sleep before I have Cronk drag you back to the med center! Is that Ratchet? Ratchet, get back here! I need help with this stubborn old lombax!"

Ratchet grinned. It was nice to see them getting along so well. "I'm on my way. Ratchet, out."

He looked over to Clank. Clank still seemed worried about him. "I'm really sorry Clank. I just lost it. I don't know how..."

Clank interrupted him, shaking his head and smiling. "There is no need, Ratchet. But thank you. You did what you had to do." Clank extended his fist to Ratchet, and Ratchet bumped it, a smile on his face.

* * *


	13. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11: Field Trip**

Ratchet carefully set Talwyn's spacecraft down in the landing bay. It was a beast to control, and Ratchet bumped it more than a few times on the way in to the bay. Once he had safely touched down and shut the thrusters off, he and Clank exited the hatch. Ratchet hooked up the power and fuel feeds and walked over to Aphelion.

She was resting quietly, with no signs of any external damage or problems. Ratchet's hands were once again drawn to the lombax lettering and he traced the lines of her hull. "Good morning, Ratchet," Aphelion asked. "Is everything okay?"

Ratchet looked up and smiled. "Yes, thank you. How about you? Is there anything you need?"

Aphelion replied, "No. I am fully fueled and ready whenever you are."

Ratchet tapped the hull lightly. "That's okay. I'm not goin' anywhere for a little while. Get some rest. And thanks..."

Aphelion flickered her landing lights. "It was my pleasure." She shut herself down again and returned to sleep.

Talwyn, Petrov, Zephyr and Cronk met them in the terrarium. Petrov was still not in the greatest shape, but he wanted to see Ratchet, and there was no force in Polaris that would stop him. So, just to shut him up, Talwyn permitted it.

Ratchet and Clank strode off the lift platform. Talwyn rush forward and hugged Ratchet, saying "I was so worried." Ratchet patted her back and reassured her that he was fine. Talwyn then bent down, picked up Clank and hugged him too. He chuckled slightly and she put him down.

"So, rookie," Cronk began, "Talwyn says you got a might pre-turbed at them there fishies..."

Zephyr nodded and added, "Real mad, icy voice, the whole shootin' match..."

Cronk continued, "Used up all your ammo and ever'thin'..."

Zephyr finally asked the question they had been building towards. "So... uh... Wha'd'ja do to 'em?"

Ratchet smiled viciously. He looked out over the terrarium. "Cronk, are there any fish in your 'fishin' hole'?" Cronk was about to answer, when Ratchet cut in, "Really?"

Cronk lowered his head and Zephyr quietly said, "No. Not really."

Ratchet manifested the cone glove. The others, expect for Clank, looked at him a little strangely. Petrov shook his head, "Uh, Tiny..."

Clank warned, "Ratchet, you may want to decrease the power. This is a very small area."

Ratchet nodded, "I know." He retrieved one of the four remaining cones from the glove. With the probe in his gloved hand, Ratchet turned the cone over and examined the base. There was a small dial control that set the power output. It was, naturally, set to the maximum setting. Ratchet dialed it down to minimum and repositioned the cone in his hand. Ratchet then tossed the cone underhanded. The cone flipped end over end above the water of the fishing hole. It remained in the air for a few heartbeats before it hit. A curtain of plasma covered the entire surface, and there was an immediate electrical discharge. The cone slowly sank to the bottom of the artificial pond, but continued to spark and shock the steaming water for nearly ten minutes before the cone finally burned out.

There was a stunned silence. Ratchet looked at the people gathered around him. "Remember," he said, "that was on the lowest setting in fresh water. At full power and in Zaurik's brine..."

Petrov's face split into a huge grin as he completed Ratchet's thought for him, "That musta been one helluva light show! And it musta taken out any drophyds anywhere close. How many'd'ya drop, and what's the range?"

Clank responded, "Ratchet dropped fourty six cones. Each cone created a sheet of plasma that covered a radius of just over two kilocubits."

Petrov whistled, extremely impressed. Ratchet hedged slightly, "Yeah, but they burned out a lot faster. They only lasted about a minute."

Petrov shook his head. "That wouldn't matter, Tiny. That wouldn't matter..."

* * *

While his injury was severe, the combination of the nanotech and the automated medical systems of the med center were able to repair most of Petrov's injuries. Other than some very nasty looking scarring on the skin of his back, and singed fur that would take time to grow back properly, Petrov was his usual self in about two days. His trillium armor was significantly damaged, with a huge hole melted into the back. But Petrov kept it proudly, storing it in his manifestor and changing into a camouflage uniform from the Lombax Defense Ministry. To pass the time, he exchanged war stories with Cronk and Zephyr, and answered the questions about lombax daily life that Talwyn shot at him every now and then.

After the two days, when Petrov no longer needed the med center, Ratchet insisted that Petrov stay in Talwyn's old lombax themed guest bedroom. Ratchet spent the evenings camped out in the nature simulation of the terrarium, enjoying nightly campfires with Clank and the quiet space. The lombax didn't realize it, but he was being watched; there was a window in the control room that overlooked the terrarium, and Talwyn found herself watching over Ratchet (and Clank, of course) during the late evenings.

But this did not last long either. Petrov was getting jittery. The Fastoon simulation in Talwyn's room was making the old lombax a little homesick. Plus, Zephyr's 'cooking' and the utter lack of a sludgemaker was keeping him on edge. After a few days, he gathered everyone in the terrarium. "There're a coupla things I need t' get done," Petrov began. "The council wanted me t' scout the area and report. Reg 'n the first batch o' scouts should be on Fastoon by now. What'd'ya say we drop by 'n say 'hi'?"

Ratchet was eager for the opportunity. Talwyn was a bit nervous at first. Petrov saw her concern and tried to calm her fears. "Look, we're not goin' anywhere. Come with us; I'll give ya a tour of what it was like before Tachyon... well... ya know..."

Eventually, Talwyn relented. Cronk and Zephyr wanted to go too, but there was not enough space in both ships to fit all six of them. So they agreed to remain on the station for now.

With Ratchet and Clank in Aphelion and Talwyn and Petrov in her ship, they made their way to Fastoon. The environment was only slightly different from the last time that Ratchet was there. When Ratchet had gone there to use the dimensionator to contact the lombaxes, there were still remnants of cragmite technology and weapons visible. Not anymore. As they came in to land inside the central plaza, they saw that the devices had been stripped and the plaza emptied of all signs that the cragmites were ever there. But other than that, the plaza remained as desolate as ever; plumes of dust swirling from the parched soil, the lombax ruins casting shadows at odd angles, the stillness and the heat.

The only other thing that had changed was the central monument. The rubble around its base had been cleared away, the stones disposed of. The fragments of the monument itself, with its raritanium and trillium alloys, had been carefully removed from beneath the monument, cataloged, labeled and were packaged in a large multichamber storage case. The case itself was protected by a shimmering orange force field.

Ratchet climbed out of Aphelion, and Clank leapt onto the backpack. Ratchet grimaced with the sudden weight, but then smiled. Clank enabled the thruster pack upgrade. He had seen the look in Ratchet's eyes, and Clank knew that acrobatics were going to happen - it was just a matter of time.

Talwyn and Petrov exited her ship's hatch and they gathered in the plaza. Looking up at the monument, Petrov's eyes grew moist. "I never thought I'd see it again." Ratchet jumped up onto the first tier of the structure and glanced back at Petrov and Talwyn, beckoning them forward. Petrov had a shocked look on his face, "Wha'd'ya think yer doin', Tiny!"

Ratchet smiled back. "Trust me! Come'on!"

Talwyn and Petrov looked at each other, and slowly followed the young lombax up the monument. There were a few points where the rings had been broken, and they had some trouble climbing. Ratchet, of course, had no difficulty having done this many times already. He turned and helped the others up. Finally, they made it to the top tier, where a zip line had been installed leading down to one of the alcoves along the plaza. From here, they could see the entire courtyard, all of the structures and the bridge that crossed the chasm to the Court of Azimuth. The cragmite bridge had been removed, but another bridge, presumably of lombax origin, had replaced it.

From up here, Talwyn and Petrov looked over the plaza. Petrov let out a low whistle. "I see whatcha mean, Tiny." He nodded. "Impressive!" Petrov looked to Talwyn and started to point out features of the plaza, and what they had been when the city was still alive. "Over there's the raritanium mine entrance. It's mostly automated, so there's only an access port. Down there's the entrance t' the waterworks. There's an underground river that supplies fresh water t' the city. That'll take ya t' the pumps. See that? That's the machine shop. The grav ramps helped move the heavy stuff up t' the second floor, so we could work on the undercarriage..."

As Petrov pointed out the details, Ratchet noticed movement below. A single dust plume rose from behind the cover of a stone barricade. "We're not alone," he told Clank. Clank nodded. But there was only one plume; this was unusual, since the nanophytes that had become commonplace on Fastoon usually travelled in groups of a dozen or more.

Petrov and Talwyn were still distracted, so Ratchet decided to investigate. He dove off the top of the monument, kicked into a somersault and, with some braking assistance from Clank, landed lightly on his feet. Ratchet quickly ran to the source of the dust plume, combustor in hand. As he rounded the barricade, he skidded to a sudden stop.

Reg looked up at him, stood from his crouch, raised his hands in the air, smiled and said, "I surrender."

* * *

The combustor vanished from Ratchet's hand and Clank dropped from his backpack. He smiled and shook Reg's hand. "What're you doin' here?"

Reg was very amused. "Shhhh... I'm a spy. Don't tell anyone, okay?" Ratchet laughed. "Is that Petrov up there?" Reg asked, nodding his head in the direction of the monument. Ratchet nodded. "Oh, this is gonna be good."

Reg lead the way to the base of the monument. Looking up, he shouted, "Hey, Neutrino! How're'ya gettin' down?"

Ratchet saw Petrov look around, and could here Petrov bellow back, "Hey, Solstice! 'Bout time you show'd up! We waited, but got bored 'n took out Zaurik!" Petrov roared with laughter as he took the zipline to the alcove, with Talwyn clinging to his back.

Reg looked at Ratchet and Clank, his smile fading. "He's yankin' my tail, right?" Ratchet and Clank just looked at each other. Silence. Reg's smile was gone. "No way!" Silence. A plume of dust blew by. Ratchet buffed his hand lightly against his armor, a smug grin on his face. Reg's own face showed a slightly sickened and stunned look. "Clank, ya gotta tell me, did you go to the drophyd homeworld?"

Clank looked up at Reg. "Oh... Um... Well... Yes."

Reg's face fell. He looked over at Petrov, who was making his way down from the alcove above the plaza and shouted, "You coulda at least waited for me!"

* * *

After the initial introductions, and Tawlyn's rather surprised comment to Ratchet on the side: "_He's_ the _Prime Minister_?" they gathered by the barricade and started catching up. But before they even began, Petrov stopped them all. "Reg, before we start, there's somethin' I gotta know."

Reg looked up and said, "Yeah?"

Petrov met Reg's eyes and almost pleaded, "I'm dyin' for some sludge. Ya got a machine around here?"

Reg laughed. He led them to the smaller building, where Ratchet had first found one of the lombax flight components he needed to fix Aphelion. The swingshot target was gone, but a small energy bridge had been set up in its place. They crossed and entered the building. Here, Reg had set up a small workroom with tablets, terminals, maps and communication devices scattered around. The impact crater in the center had been filled in, replaced by a narrow bunk against one wall, a chair and a portable lamp. A drink dispenser stood in one corner. Petrov's face broke into a smile when he saw it.

"Thank you!" he said to Reg as he grabbed a mug and started filling it.

"Careful," Reg replied, "It's set t' ultra strength."

Petrov's smile grew even wider. "Perfect! The one in the ministry's always too weak... Wanna cup, Tiny?"

Ratchet looked at the machine with longing. "Please!" Petrov handed him a full mug and Ratchet was about to drink it when a thought occurred to him. "Clank," he said, "is this stuff addictive?"

Clank's probe pulsed for a moment, and he whispered, "Oh my..."

Ratchet nodded. "I kinda thought so..." He took a sip. It was as vile as he remembered. Mmmm... Nice 'n strong, too... The fur on his muzzle was beginning to tingle.

He offered the cup to Talwyn. She sniffed at it hesitantly, took a tiny sip, choked slightly and handed it back. "I don't think I'm ready for that just yet," she said.

Ratchet nodded, taking another sip.

Petrov and Talwyn sat on the bunk, Reg in the chair and Ratchet sat on the ground next to Talwyn, Clank standing next to him. Ratchet retold all of the events that had occurred since he and Clank emerged from the portal in the Court of Azimuth.

When he got to the part about the events in Solana, Ratchet took off his cap and showed it to Reg. "Big Al copied your cap's interface into mine. Your cap's great and it's a wonderful gift, but it's a little big on me."

Reg inspected the cap Al had made and was extremely impressed with the workmanship. Having worked with Doc T on the original design, he easily spotted the improvements Al had made. "I really like the studs. We used crystals to get full spectrum, but Al's got it rigged with redundancy and harmonics. Neat trick! I like the countersink; it must be real comfortable... Nice design... He's got a lotta talent. Hmmm... Maybe Al can make me one..."

Petrov interrupted. "You'll have t' wait in line. I've already promised a guided tour o' New Fastoon once things settle." Reg nodded and smiled, handing the cap back to Ratchet.

Ratchet continued, telling of his encounter with Sasha and the promise that he'd help set things up for them someday. Petrov and Reg glanced at each other when he described how he told Sasha he'd be useless in politics. "Oh, I dunno," Petrov started. "I think you've done a great job with the drophyd surrender..." Reg turned to Petrov with a curious look on his face. Petrov just muttered, "Wait for it..." and Reg nodded.

When Ratchet got to the point where Petrov showed up, he turned the storytelling over to him, complaining that his sludge was getting cold. Ratchet stood, got a refill of the horrible brew and sat down on the ground between Clank and Talwyn as Petrov took over. Petrov's storytelling style was nearly as flamboyant as Zephyr's. "Tiny here kicks off the self destruct on the drophyd dropship. I step through, see 'm and shake hands. He pulls me t' the dirt, flops down next t' me as the counter hits zero. What a welcome!" Things quieted down a little as they speculated on why the drophyds were after the generators, and what their real intentions were.

Petrov sadly related their experiences with IRIS, and how he learned that Cynthia had been killed. Reg put his hand on Petrov's shoulder, but Petrov looked into his eyes and continued, "It's okay. It's nothin' I didn't already know. It hurt, hearin' it like that, so 'matter o' fact'... But at least I know." Petrov paused for a second, took a deep breath, and then continued on, telling about the access override, the unusual numeric coincidence and what they had learned.

And then, Petrov hit 'Operation Shark Chum'...

"...and all fer the glory o' The Dread Pirate Ratchet!" Petrov exclaimed. His voice hit a dramatic crescendo as he came to the name, and Ratchet could see him struggling to keep a straight face. Talwyn had surrendered to laughter early on in the description of Qwark's mission. Reg tried valiantly not to laugh, but on hearing 'Dread Pirate Ratchet' he lost it. He doubled over, laughing uncontrollably for nearly two minutes. Ratchet sat there patiently. He couldn't blame them; it really _was_ kinda funny...

Petrov told of Ratchet's HALO jump, clearing the pad and their landing. Tachyon's last command was repeated by Clank from memory, and Reg nodded. "That makes sense in a twisted kinda way. That'd be just like Percival to have a recording ready..."

Petrov manifested his trillium armor and showed Reg the hit he took. Reg looked at the melted hole in the trillium and whistled. He looked at Petrov and made him take off the uniform shirt. Reg examined Petrov's back, cringing slightly at the sight of the burned fur and the scars. Putting the shirt back on, Petrov asked how it looked. Reg said, "That's gonna leave a mark. Once your fur grows back, it'll be fine. I'd stay outta the sun for a while, though."

Petrov looked up for a second, slapped his hand against the side of the cot and looked at Ratchet. "I've still got your nano-pak! It's in my manifestor. The straps're a bit melted, but it still works okay. And I've also got some door glove ammo. Don't let me forget..."

Clank described what happened next. Ratchet had little or no memory of anything between seeing Petrov fall and getting him into Aphelion. He was horrified at the intensity and violence of his own actions. Reg watched his face very carefully, and finally interrupted, "You don't remember any of this, do you?" Ratchet shook his head, and Reg nodded. "I understand. It happens."

Reg was fascinated by the use of the cones against the drophyds. "It makes a lotta sense though; an electrical weapon against an ocean dwelling species. We were never able to get close enough... I wish we'd've done it sooner!" Looking to Petrov, he muttered, "I understand whatcha meant about the surrender. I wouldn't be surprised if we hear from them real soon..."

"So that's what we've been up to," Petrov said. "What's new on New Fastoon? I haven't seen ya in a few days." He gave Reg a sly look. "Anythin' happenin'?"

Reg grinned. "Ya' might say that..." He stared into Petrov's eyes. "Melody and I bonded."

"I KNEW IT!" Petrov shouted. "Congratulations! It's about time!" He got up and hugged Reg. "When?"

"Just before I went through the portal," Reg said with a smile on his face.

"Congratulations, Reg!" Ratchet got up to shake his hand, but was engulfed in another hug by the Prime Minister.

"Indeed!" Clank added.

Talwyn said, "Congratulations," as well, but then asked, "Reg, I know that being bonded is the lombax equivalent of marriage, but what's involved?"

Reg chuckled, "Not much. Well, a lot, but... not like that... Ya' see, bonding's just a formal statement. It really happens a little at a time; the couple grows closer until it becomes obvious that they're bonded. The friends and family usually see it first, but outta respect they don't say anything. The couple's usually the last t' know. Eventually, they realize it and decide to announce. Melody and I bonded just before I came through. Spiff was pissed!"

"Spiff?" Ratchet said, puzzled. "What's he got to do with any of this?"

Reg's eyes avoided Ratchet's, but Clank could tell that the minister was actually blushing. Petrov answered for him, "Melody Gaiden is Spiff's older sister." Ratchet's jaw dropped. "Makes ya realize why Spiff's always so worked up about Reg."

Reg interrupted, "Spiff's not really that bad: he's just a bit stiff and shy. And he takes things _way_ too seriously. When we leave for New Fastoon, I'll introduce ya."

Petrov looked at Reg sharply and shook his head slightly. Reg's eyes widened, and he fell silent with a slightly confused look on his face.

"Is Melody anything like Spiff?" Ratchet asked, not noticing the gesture.

Petrov nodded, "She's a good bit older than Spiff. Kinda quiet. Reserved. Not what you'd expect from Reg..."

Reg interrupted, "You've gotta be kidding! Ratchet, don't buy that! Melody may be shy 'n quiet in public, but once you get t' know her, you'll find she's got a sense o' humor as twisted as Petrov's! Worse - she's also got Spiff's nasty streak. She brings the term 'passive aggressive' to a whole new level!" Ratchet imagined the combination Reg described and shuddered slightly. He scooted over on the ground to be a little closer to Talwyn. Reg did not miss the maneuver, and his ears perked slightly.

Petrov looked at Reg, and in a concerned voice asked, "How's Doc?"

"He still won't see anyone. But it's gettin' worse," Reg said rather heavily, his ears falling. "He's been working on the dimensionator nearly non-stop. Winston's been on leave from the CALR, helpin' him with it. And with that, uh, other project." He met Petrov's eyes, "It's as if Doc wants to finish as quick as possible." Petrov's ears drooped. "Yeah, I know," Reg added.

Ratchet did not like the sound of that. "Is there anything I can do?"

Petrov looked up at him, his ears perking back up. "Perhaps. That 'special project' Reg mentioned? It's about you."

"Me?" Ratchet asked.

Petrov began, "Yeah. You remember the nano-pak?" Ratchet nodded. "Well, when ya left it with Rich, ya were in such a hurry ya tore it off yerself, clumps o' your fur were stuck to the straps. Doc took samples, and he's been tryin' t' find a genetic match in the families on New Fastoon. He's hasn't had any luck yet, though."

Ratchet was overwhelmed. In the biggest understatement of his life (so far), he said, "That's great! I've always been curious..."

"Of course ya have," Petrov continued. "Only natural. Especially in a lombax." He looked at Reg, met his eyes and said, "I was waitin' 'til ya got here..."

Reg smiled, and his ears perked up. In a very dignified voice, he said, "Thank you. I am honored."

Petrov put down his cup and looked into Ratchet's eyes. "Ya see, Tiny, family's everything fer a lombax. Always has been. It's our nature, as Doc would say.

"My dad was Prime Minister when we left Fastoon. He's the one that gave yer father the mission. IRIS only told him the number, so he never knew yer dad's name. That always bothered him. And it's always bothered me...

"A lombax without a family's extremely rare. Usually relatives or friends step in early on so it never gets that far. It's just the way things are. It takes an act o' council to change that...

Petrov paused briefly, closed his eyes for a second and took a deep breath. Then he stared into Ratchet's eyes again.

"By a unanimous vote, with the Prime Minister ratifying it, according to section four zero three, paragraph 'd', you're officially adopted into the Neutrino family." Petrov smiled.

Ratchet's jaw dropped open and his mind went completely blank as he stared into Petrov's eyes.

"Assumin' ya want to, that is..." Petrov concluded, a little nervously.

Clank had never seen Ratchet move that fast before. Ratchet sprang to his feet and threw his arms around Petrov in a bear hug, his eyes closed, squeezing as tightly as he could until Petrov was gasping for air. In a very quiet and very emotional voice, Ratchet whispered, "Thank you."

* * *


	14. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12: If You've Come This Far...**

Ratchet's mind was numb. He couldn't think of anything else to say. He could feel Petrov gasping slightly, could feel Reg and Talwyn patting him on his shoulders (Clank a little lower) congratulating him. After a time, he let Petrov go and stared into his eyes. He whispered again, "Thank you..."

Petrov's eyes were rimmed with tears as he began, "Of course we're gonna keep lookin' for your dad. But you'll always have a home with me. In fact..." he looked at Reg, who nodded, "we've already set somethin' up fer ya fer short term. Wanna check it out?"

Ratchet looked at Talwyn. She seemed torn with emotion. Ratchet always knew that she was afraid he would leave without her. With her eyes moist like that, he knew that she was really scared. Looking at Petrov, he quietly asked, "What about Talwyn?"

Petrov smiled, glancing briefly at Reg. "I thought you might ask. She can come too. 'N with Tachyon gone, there's no reason we can't go back and forth. This is just a quick visit."

"I've got the door glove..." Ratchet started, but Petrov interrupted him.

"Yeah, I've got some ammo fer ya."

Ratchet shook his head. "Actually, I'm good. I only used the one charge t' get here."

Petrov looked horribly disappointed. "You didn't do _any_ explorin'?"

Ratchet shook his head, trying to defend himself, "I haven't had time! Plus, where'm I gonna get ammo in Polaris? I wanted t' save some t' get back to New Fastoon. I didn't expect you two t' show up this quick."

Petrov relented. "Okay. I guess so. But I've got more when yer ready. Remind me..." Ratchet nodded.

Reg shook his head slightly. "I can't go right now. I'm stuck here 'til one o' the others gets back. I'll send you through, and catch up with ya on the other side. It'll be a few hours, though."

Petrov nodded. "We'll be back well before then. I don't wanna stay there too long."

Reg nodded, and led them out of the small building, over to where the cragmite ion cannon had stood. The cannon was gone, but there was an unusual device in its place. It looked like a small dome, approximately two cubits in diameter at the base, with multiple protrusions and devices sticking off of it at odd angles. If anything, it reminded Ratchet a little of the original prototype dimensionator, just without the hat portion.

"I'll drop ya outside on the terrace," Reg said. "Petrov'll give you the grand tour. I'll be here, so lock in on me with your glove on the way back." Reg put his hands on two of the controls. A portion of the device opened, and a series of probes extended. A dimensional portal, similar to the ones the original dimensionator created, open up in front of them. Beyond, it Ratchet could see a high terrace garden, landscaped with dry soil similar to both Fastoon and Azimuth Park.

"Come'on," Petrov waved and led them through the portal.

* * *

They stood on a high terrace, carefully configured to have a garden area reminiscent of Fastoon. The dry soil was home to a number of small plants, and on other edge of the terrace were two large pots. Each pot held a young thorntree on the verge of going into bloom, its spikes just starting to turn crimson. The terrace overlooked busy city streets, with air traffic patterns and pedways below them. Unlike Metropolis, they were not kilocubits above the surface; they could see a deeper, richer soil with greenery flanking the pedways on the ground merely a few hundred cubits below. Still too high to jump, but high enough to provide a bit of privacy compared to the structures around them. In the distance, Ratchet could make out what looked like a large dirt track; possibly the hoverbike / rocket sled course Reg had mentioned to him previously.

Petrov led the way through an archway into a central living space. Here, there were a series of heavily padded (and rather comfortable looking) leather chairs, a couch, an audio/video entertainment system including a vidgame console with a small library of media. Ratchet could tell by the titles that Reg had gone shopping; all of the titles were familiar to him and many he had previously owned in his Metropolis apartment. In fact, there was a framed poster from one of his favorite vidgame series on the wall above the media library just like Clank's old place on Endako.

Off of the main living space was a small kitchenette and dining table, with a small grouping of four chairs around it. In the kitchenette, there was a beverage dispenser, a food preparation center and a cooling unit.

There was a primary corridor off to the side of the room, where the kitchenette joined the primary living space. Off this corridor were four sleeping chambers complete with bed, desk, chair, night table, lamp and small display unit, along with what looked like hyperband and power feeds; everything that both organic and robotic life could want. At the end of the corridor was a bathroom for the organic types, complete with a hydroshower/airblast system. Somewhat archaic, but certainly functional!

Ratchet was overwhelmed again. This place was bigger than the apartment he shared with Clank in Metropolis. In fact, it was bigger and far better than any place he had ever lived before. He looked at Petrov and was about to speak, when Petrov held up his hand. "Gimme a minute," Petrov said. The others waited as he touched a comm crystal.

"Jacek? Petrov."  
"Yup."  
"Just for an hour or so."  
"Showing some folks around."  
"Listen, I wanna grab a quick lunch..."  
"Yeah. Got a stylus?"  
"Lemme have..." Petrov looked at Ratchet and Talwyn critically.  
"...One burger, one order o' polygons, two orders o' pterodon, and two orders o' sewer shark."  
"Yup."  
"Delivered."  
"Got the trace?"  
"Good."  
"Yeah, it's my account. The less the ministry knows, the better. Maybe next time."  
"Thanks. Later!"

"That's a lot of food," Ratchet said, gesturing to the small group. "There's just four of us..."

"Three," Clank corrected, smiling, "But thank you for thinking of me."

"Oh yeah," Ratchet chuckled, slightly embarrassed.

Petrov nodded, "I got some extra pterodon for Reg. We'll bring it through 'n surprise 'm. The rest, well, anything leftover'll go eventually." There was a flash of energy and six delivery cartons appeared on the food preparation surface. "He's quick!" Petrov went and fetched the containers, bringing them to the table.

"You've gotta try the sewer shark," Ratchet told Talwyn. "I was skeptical at first, but it's really unbelievable!" He opened the container and selected a piece for Talwyn to try. Talwyn sniffed at it warily, her face guarded. She nibbled at the sashimi, and her face changed to delight. She finished the piece and smiled at Ratchet. "Yeah, I thought the same thing when I first tried it," Ratchet said.

Petrov started opening the other boxes, and they all started eating. Clank watched in some amusement; lombaxes really seemed to enjoy their food. After a few minutes, Petrov picked up a pterodon leg, held it in his hand, but didn't bite into it. "Okay. Hate t' do this, but this is gonna be a business lunch. I had my reasons not t' charge it t' the ministry, but we need t' talk. Officially." He looked from Clank to Ratchet to Talwyn.

"Me 'n Reg set up the apartment. Well... Reg did all the decoratin'... We got it a little big for a reason. We knew that you three, and Cronk and Zephyr would probably be spendin' some time here, and we wanted t' make sure ya had enough space." Petrov looked around the apartment, gesturing slightly with the pterodon in his hand and nodded.

"Ya see, the lombaxes aren't gonna go back t' Fastoon." Ratchet and Talwyn gasped. Petrov held up his hand. "Not formally, anyway. There'll be visitors, o' course; mostly the historic types like Talwyn's dad and some engineers. They'll be cataloging 'n studying 'n all, but it won't be much more than whatcha already saw.

"I was supposed t' find a good spot. Somethin' small, defensible but impressive enough t' serve as... well... a lombax embassy, I guess." He looked at Talwyn. "If yer willin', we'd like t' use yer station."

Talwyn looked at Petrov, clearly amazed. "Don't be modest!" Petrov began. "The place's a work o' art! It's clearly a good site, good defenses, outta the way, fantastic architecture and at least partly lombax construction; ya can't tell me that generator or some o' those terrariums aren't..." Petrov finally bit into the pterodon he had been holding, and continued, his mouth full. "Anyway, the ministry'd rent it from ya 'n set up shop there. You, Zephyr and Cronk could move in here, or we'd set ya up with another apartment if you'd like."

Talwyn was clearly dazzled by the offer. Petrov added another incentive, "You'd also be able t' stay on New Fastoon. You were askin' 'bout our history 'n culture 'n all. Here it is; all around ya." Petrov smiled. "What'd'ya think?"

Talwyn looked at Ratchet, smiled and then glanced over to Clank. "Clank, what do you think?"

"It certainly sounds like an interesting offer," Clank began. "There is plenty of space here for all of us should you decide to go ahead with this arrangement. You may wish to take some time to consider your options, and discuss them with Zephyr and Cronk as well."

Tawlyn nodded. Petrov smiled and said, "I don't need an answer now or anythin'. Just makin' the offer. The council'd have t' approve it anyway." He took another bite of the pterodon.

* * *

They enjoyed their lunch, and there was surprisingly little left over. The pterodon already reserved for Reg was joined by a fraction of the burger, one pteradon drumstick and some of the polygons. "They're not really good left over," Petrov said, "but it'll give Reg the option." Petrov remained in the kitchenette packing the food for the return journey to Fastoon. He seemed to be in a hurry to get back. Ratchet, Clank and Talwyn went back onto the terrace.

They stood there, overlooking the city. It was amazing how much it reminded Ratchet of Metropolis. Somehow, a city would always be the same. But looking up at the energy transfer units on the buildings (they still reminded Ratchet of lombax ears) and at the streets below, he knew that this could be home. He smiled at Talwyn and Clank.

From the edge of the terrace, there was an energy discharge. At first, they thought it was a dimensionator portal, but it was much lower power; a teleporter. A lombax dressed in the camouflage uniform of the Lombax Defense Ministry materialized on the terrace. Talwyn was a little startled, but Ratchet and Clank both recognized him.

"Rich? Is that you?" Ratchet asked, holding out his hand.

Rich Quantum, the first lombax Ratchet had ever met (and accidentally almost killed) smiled and shook his hand. "Ratchet! Clank! Glad ta see ya!" He looked over to Talwyn. "Who's this lovely lady?" He asked.

"This is Miss Talwyn Apogee," Clank said, introducing her to Rich. "Talwyn, this is Deputy Rich Quantum. He is the first lombax that we encountered on our first journey to New Fastoon."

Some pleasantries were exchanged with the introductions, and Ratchet asked, "So, what brings ya here?"

"Oh," Rich said, kind of elusively, "I'm just lookin' for the Minister..."

"He's inside in the kitchen, but he'll be here in a minute," Ratchet said. He looked over Rich carefully. His uniform was different. "Didya get promoted?"

"Yeah," Rich replied. "With Petrov out, they made me the new Regional Minister for region nine. New job, new responsibilities... No more park patrol, that's for sure."

Ratchet chuckled, "Yeah. I'm glad they did the right thing..." He looked uncomfortably at Rich for a second. "Look, Rich... I didn't realize the mag-net was upgraded. I didn't mean..."

Rich looked down, a little uncomfortable. "I know. Don't worry about it. I was the one who shot first. From what I heard, it coulda been a lot worse. If anything, you saved my life!" He glanced toward the door, as though watching for Petrov, and then sighed sadly. He looked into Ratchet's eyes. "We're cool, right?" Rich asked, offering his hand to Ratchet.

"Yeah," Ratchet said, smiling and taking his hand. "Thanks."

Rich was extremely agile, even for a lombax. He pulled Ratchet's right hand toward him as he was shaking it, and his left hand whipped a thin strip of metal around Ratchet's furry right arm. It latched into place, and began glowing slightly. Rich met his eyes and softly said, "I'm sorry..."

Ratchet stood there, a strange look coming over his face. After a few seconds, he said in a loud voice, "Clank! Talwyn! I can't move!"

* * *


	15. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13: Busted**

Talwyn bellowed at the top of her lungs, "PETROV!" She drew her blaster and leveled it at Rich. Rich backed away very slowly, his hands clearly visible. "Talwyn, relax. Just let me explain..."

Her voice was chilling. "You have ten seconds to remove that thing and let him go before parts of your body start hitting the pavement. Ten..."

"I can't do that," Rich tried to explain.

"Nine..." Talwyn continued. Clank moved to stand next to Talwyn.

"It's a neuralock. It's only temporary."

"Eight..."

"It wears off in ten minutes..."

"Seven..."

"It can't be taken off..."

"Six..."

"What's goin' on?" Petrov said, a piece of pterodon in his hand.

Clank quickly said, "Regional Minister Quantum has disabled Ratchet with a neuralock."

"Five..."

"Talwyn, put that down!" Petrov said.

"Four..."

Petrov moved to stand between Talwyn and Rich.

"Three...?" Talwyn said uncertainly. "Get outta the way!"

"You can stop counting now," Petrov said in a very firm tone. The blaster fell to her side, but Talwyn did not put it away. "That's better. Now, just relax 'n let's get t' the bottom o' this." He looked at Rich, "How'd ya know we were here?"

Rich shifted a little uncomfortably. "Jacek's," he said. Petrov dropped the pterodon to the terrace. "We were watchin' for multiple sewer shark orders. You're gettin' too predictable, Petrov..."

"Um," Ratchet started, "Can someone get me _outta_ this thing?"

Petrov looked at the neuralock and looked in Ratchet's eyes. "Sorry, Ratchet. It's timed. No voluntary muscle movement from the neck down... It only lasts ten minutes, though." He chuckled. "Hold still..."

Ratchet growled slightly at him.

Clank said, "I thought that the council had provided a pardon, and that we would not be in danger of arrest or confinement."

Rich looked at Clank in surprise. "Ratchet's not under arrest!"

"Then why am I a stupid statue?!" Ratchet practically shouted.

"You didn't tell 'm?" Rich asked Petrov.

"I thought we'd be outta here before you found us," Petrov replied. "Can ya cut us a break? You didn't see us..."

Rich shook his head sadly, "You of all people know that I can't do that..."

Petrov sighed, his ears drooping. "I know... Make it quick - you owe him your life, after all..."

Rich nodded, pulled out a display pad, and read in a formal voice, "Ahem... Ratchet of Veldin. By section four zero three, paragraph 'c', you have been duly nominated, selected and approved as Minister to the Lombax Central Council. To this end, you will be required to serve a sentence of not more than four years in service on the council. At the completion of this term, you will be permitted a parole of not less than one year. You are hereby granted the security level of six, and all of the rights and privileges associated with it as a Minister of the Lombax Central Council." Rich dropped the pad to his side, and added unofficially, "And may the deity of your choice have mercy on your sorry tail..."

Ratchet closed his eyes, and shouted, "NOOOOOO!!"

* * *

Talwyn finally put away her blaster. She and Clank stood by Ratchet. Approximately six minutes had passed since the neuralock was put on him. Rich opened a case, and removed a raritanium bracelet with a small box on the end of it. Petrov couldn't watch; he looked away at the pedways on the ground below the terrace.

Rich dropped to one knee in front of Ratchet, keeping a very watchful eye on Talwyn. "This won't hurt." He unfastened the clasp and attached the device to Ratchet's ankle. After it was locked in place, he pressed a self-check button and received a green light / mild tone. He stood up. "This device is a tracer. It is designed so that the Lombax Defense Ministry can locate the council members at all times. You will be required to wear this if you leave any area defined as a 'secure zone'. Since you've not listed any yet, I recommend you do so as soon as possible. Removing it outside a 'secure zone' will cause an alarm to sound and the tracer will alert a squad of deputies to investigate via teleport. I know it's tempting, but please don't cause false alarms," he glared at Petrov, "it gets really annoying."

"This is ridiculous!" Ratchet said. "I'm the worst person t' be in politics! This is a really big mistake!"

Petrov looked at Ratchet, "I'm sorry, Tiny. I know. Lombax nature, remember. As for who should or shouldn't be in politics or authority, it's the ones who want it that shouldn't have it! Like Reg and I are good role models??"

Rich dug another tracer out of his case and tapped Petrov on the shoulder. "Your turn..."

Petrov's ears fell. He glared at Rich and mumbled, "I'm gonna get ya for this. Gimme that!" Petrov ripped the tracer out of Rich's hand, "I'll do it myself!" He put his foot onto the terrace edge and attached the tracer to his ankle. He pressed the self-check button, and it passed. "Satisfied?" Rich nodded. Petrov swung his leg in a well practiced maneuver. The box struck the terrace edge and gave a warning tone. Petrov smiled as Rich's ears fell. Rich promptly pressed a crystal on his glove and reported that it was a false alarm.

"It's not really all bad, Tiny," Petrov began. "Ya get t' play with all the prototypes outta the CALR, ya get t' annoy Spiff and... well... yeah..." he ended weakly, his own ears falling. Trying to cheer up Ratchet, he just managed to depress himself.

Ratchet felt the neuralock fade as the glow dissipated from the thin metal strip. The strip crumbled to dust and fell to the ground. Rich came over and apologized again, "I'm really sorry. Hey! You might even like being on the council." Ratchet growled and Rich backed away.

Petrov came between them. "Give 'm time t' adjust, Rich. It's too soon."

Ratchet backed away from both Rich and Petrov slowly and carefully. Talwyn said, "What are you doing?"

Ratchet just shook his head. He moved his right arm behind his back, blocked from Petrov's or Rich's vision. Using his neural matrix, he manifested the door glove. Talwyn put her hand on his shoulder, tapped his back twice and nodded. Clank leapt onto the connecting bolt and sealed it. He did not enable any upgrades, for fear of drawing the lombaxes attention.

Ratchet thought of Fastoon, of the small room where they had gathered previously, of Reg. When the crystal turned green, Talwyn tapped him twice on the back. Ratchet fired the glove.

The portal formed behind them, and Talwyn jumped through. Ratchet turned and ran, leaping through the doorframe created by the glove. But as he went through, the tracer would not pass the plane of the portal. His ankle caught, and Ratchet fell, most of him lying on the dirt on Fastoon in Polaris, with his feet sticking out on New Fastoon in Leonid.

Rich saw them, gasped and Petrov turned. With a speed that was very unusual for the large lombax, he reached through the portal, grabbed Ratchet by the scruff of his neck and yanked Ratchet and Clank back through the portal. "You idiot!" Petrov shouted. "I told'ya the tracers won't go through! You coulda lost a foot!"

Talwyn had turned, saw what happened and managed to get a cry of "Ratch..." before the portal closed.

Petrov stood with Ratchet in front of him. He was rather angry about being startled like that and practically shouted at Ratchet. "Look, I know. Deal with it! Open a portal so we can talk with Talwyn."

Ratchet sighed and did so. Talwyn returned to New Fastoon.

"Look," Petrov began, still a bit shaken, but slowly calming down. "Nothin's changed. Everythin' I said's still true." He looked into Ratchet's eyes and put his hand on his shoulder. "You've always got a home here. 'N you've also got family here now. But you're also a lombax. And honestly, we need ya. Sacrifices must be made. Wha'd'ya say?"

Hearing those words, the phrase Petrov so often used, stopped Ratchet's retort cold. Petrov had told them that those were the words that Cynthia had said to him before he first came to New Fastoon. Before her death. Ratchet understood them a little better, now. He wasn't happy about it, but he nodded. And then, with a chuckle he added, "When you said the omega cannon came at a high price, I didn't realize it'd be this high..."

Petrov laughed. "Yeah, it's high. But it can be a helluva lotta fun sometimes."

Ratchet turned to Talwyn and manifested the door glove. He removed it and handed it to her. "I can't use this for a while. It's up t' you, of course. I know you wanna find your father, and then there's Zephyr and Cronk. But I can't leave. I'd like you t' stay... If you want to, that is..."

Talwyn took the glove from him and then kissed him on the muzzle, silencing his increasingly incoherent comments. Then she grabbed a pinch of the fur under his chin and yanked. Hard. "Ow!" Ratchet rubbed where she had pulled out a bit and let it drift down to the terrace.

"That's for thinking I would leave that easily..." Talwyn said. "Besides... I wanna be with... I wanna know more about your people. And where better to learn?" She looked at Petrov. "I'm interested in that deal about the station. But the price just went up. Big time!"

Ratchet knelt down in front of Clank. He didn't say anything; merely offered his fist. Clank looked into his friend's eyes, nodded and said "I am glad that you did not need to ask this time. You are learning. Finally..." Clank bumped his fist with Ratchet's.

Petrov walked over and put his arms around Ratchet's and Talwyn's shoulders. "It's nice havin' family around the place again. You won't regret it..." He glanced at Rich, closing the case that previously held the tracers and added quietly, "...much..."

In a louder voice, he called to Rich, "Didja at least bring a hyperD?" Rich nodded and tossed a small device to Petrov. He handed it to Talwyn. "This is an upgrade fer your hyperlink on the station; it lets it go transdimensional. We'll be able t' keep a link up between here 'n the station. Ya might wanna install it and let Cronk 'n Zephyr know what's happenin'." Petrov then manifested a small case of ammunition and handed it to Talwyn as well. "This is fer that door glove. Ya might wanna hang onto it. Just in case..."

"What about Aphelion?" Ratchet asked.

"We'll have Reg bring her through," Petrov responded. "But I'm afraid you're not goin' offworld without an escort for a while." Ratchet's ears fell. "But there's still lots t' see! Melody's a great pilot, and she knows all the good spots. You're not a prisoner; we can make arrangements..."

Rich spoke briefly into his comm link and approached Petrov. "Spiff's asking for a council meeting. He wants me to escort you and Ratchet to the chamber..."

Petrov glared at him. "If ya don't wanna see my daughter in a professional sense, you'll stall Spiff until tomorrow! Got it?" Rich nodded. He backed away, touched a crystal on his left glove and teleported.

Ratchet looked at Petrov quizzically. Petrov chuckled, "Rich and Nichole really hit it off. The night you showed up, Nichole was the commander on shift in the med center. She's the one who patched him up." He smiled. "It's only a matter o' time..."

* * *

Ratchet and Clank spent that evening in the new apartment suite. Ratchet gave Talwyn Reg's cap, and she used the door glove to return to Fastoon. From there, she went back to the station to 'bring back a few things'. It turned out that those few things include Zephyr and Cronk, along with an entire case of research notes, media and infotablets.

The next morning, Ratchet prepared himself for his first council meeting. He dressed in his customary flight suit, having put his armor into the manifestor for storage. Ratchet was able to have Rich declare the apartment as his first 'safe zone', so he did not have to wear the tracer inside. He had thought of going over the balcony to avoid the tracer, but the drop was still too far even with Clank's thruster pack. He also thought about trying the door glove again, but Petrov's words held him back. So saner heads prevailed as Ratchet snapped the device onto his ankle. "This's gonna get annoying fast", Ratchet muttered as he pressed the self-check button. With Clank riding on the backpack he walked out the front door to the apartment and said "G'morning" to the deputy that was waiting on duty. Ratchet had hoped to bypass this indignity, but the deputy checked the tracer for himself anyway.

Ratchet had verified in advance that Clank could attend the meetings with him. Personally, Ratchet thought that Clank would be bored out of his metal skull, but Clank thought the meetings would be fascinating. As he put it, it would be like watching the formation of a natural disaster in slow motion... Something like that. Anyway, Ratchet was glad to have him.

The teleporter brought the lombax to the vestibule of the council chamber. Here, the deputies made Ratchet surrender his manifestor. Ratchet locked it into the alcove with his name on it, using his hand as a biometric identifier. An orange forcefield covered the locker, and the deputies opened the door for him. It felt extremely unusual for him to be willingly unarmed; he wasn't very comfortable with it. But, then, so was everyone else in the room.

Ratchet strode in, stepping on the plush maroon carpeting. It had some kind of grease stains on it. Ratchet wasn't sure what that was all about, but the spots led to behind Petrov's chair, so Reg was probably involved somehow... He sat down to Petrov's left in the seat saved for him. Ratchet recognized Spiff to Petrov's right, but none of the other lombaxes present.

Spiff began the meeting in a rather dull voice. "There are only two items to discuss today, so the meeting should be relatively brief." There was a slight cry of 'yay' murmured around the table. Spiff ignored it.

"The first order of business is to welcome Zeke Wavelength's replacement, the newest council member, Minister Ratchet Neutrino..."

Ratchet interrupted Spiff and in a passable imitation of Petrov's huskier voice, he said, "Please, call me Ratchet..." There was some chuckling around the table, and Petrov laughed, smiling at him.

Spiff soon brought the meeting back to order, and introduced the others around the table one by one. Everyone seemed as happy to be there as he and Petrov were.

Spiff continued, "The second item is to discuss the terms for the drophyd surrender." Ratchet's ears perked up and he began paying attention. "It seems that they have suffered heavy losses under the most recent 'lombax onslaught'..." Petrov turned to Ratchet and grinned. They both knew the truth behind the 'onslaught', and both were eager to hear more.

That eagerness was to fade, however, as the list of recommendations, offers and demands about the drophyds droned on for multiple hours. Ratchet looked at Spiff and envied the lombax's stamina. Finally, after he couldn't take it anymore, Ratchet broke in and said, "Look. Can't we just tell 'em t' surrender all lombax technology?"

All eyes turned to him. Everyone, including Ratchet, was afraid that this interruption would just prolong the debate and cause them to have to rehash everything again from the beginning. "It won't be enough," Petrov said. "They'd still be a threat."

"No, they won't," Ratchet disagreed. "Aren't their hydrospheres lombax origin?"

There was silence at the table. The councilors were drafted for a reason; they understood the implications of that statement and knew exactly what Ratchet was after. Petrov broke into an evil grin, "Yeah... Without their little fish bowls, they're pretty much stuck on Zaurik, aren't they..." There was a murmur of ascent around the table.

Spiff in particular seemed extremely pleased with Ratchet's suggestion. He stood and had a large grin on his face. It unnerved Ratchet; the grin was extremely vicious and there was a malicious gleam in his eyes. "Indeed! With one simple demand, Minister Ratchet has effectively grounded them. I am truly impressed! Item four one two, paragraph 'a'... Those approving?" Everyone raised their hands. "Unanimous. Approved."

There was a brief burst of applause. Spiff looked at Ratchet, the vicious grin still on his face, and the twinkle in his eye even brighter than before. "I owe you an apology, Ratchet," Spiff began, "I did not realize that you were this talented." He turned his gaze to stare at Petrov. "I have to admit that I voted against you when Petrov nominated you for council."

Petrov's head swung sharply around to Spiff when his name was mentioned, and their eyes locked. Spiff's met Petrov's gaze and his smile grew even wider when Ratchet muttered in a low voice, "You nominated me?"

Spiff's eyes never left Petrov's as he announced, "Since there is no further business, I move we adjourn. I suspect that Minister Ratchet and Minister Petrov have something they would like to debate in private. All approving?" The table had already cleared. These lombaxes were drafted to council for a reason, after all; they knew better than to hang around what was obviously turning into a brawl.

"_You_ nominated me!" Ratchet's voice was getting louder, more threatening and with a hint of a growl in it.

Spiff muttered to himself, "Approved with a vote of one to zero, eight abstaining..." He walked slowly to the door, looking back at Petrov one last time. Both Ratchet and Petrov were on their feet, and Ratchet was slowly pressing Petrov into a corner of the room.

"_YOU_ nominated me!"

Petrov was trying to get out of the room, or at least to calm the younger and faster lombax down. "Come on, Tiny..."

"_IT WAS YOU??_"

"Ratchet, please! You're a natural." Petrov glanced back at Spiff, taking his eyes off Ratchet for an instant. "I'll get you for this, Spiff!" was all that Petrov could say; taking his eyes off Ratchet was a costly mistake. Ratchet jumped on the table, seizing a higher position and cutting off Petrov's escape.

Spiff's started to chuckle slightly. He moved through the door and closed it behind him. After he retrieved his personal manifestor from his locker, Spiff told the guards, "Minister Ratchet and Minister Petrov have something to discuss. They may be a while." A crash sounded from behind the supposedly soundproofed door - it must have been very loud indeed. Spiff continued, "Oh, you might want to give the med center a call and have them on standby. Just in case..."

Spiff turned and walked to the teleporter, humming to himself.

end.

* * *


	16. Epilogue

**Epilogue: A New Agenda**

Ratchet stood next to the window, his eyes peering through the sunlight streaming through the permasealed glass. He didn't want to be here. It was _such_ a beautiful day outside. He looked out over New Fastoon and could see the hoverbike track down below. He was going to be meeting with Reg and the others after the council meeting ended; _if_ it ever ended, that is... At least it gave him something to look forward to.

Ratchet had just completed serving year one of his four year sentence on the council. In that time, Petrov had taught him a number of different tricks and shown him the benefits of being a minister. Ratchet appreciated Petrov's warped sense of humor; with the two of them on the council together, combined with Reg as Prime Minister, they made a destructive force of cataclysmic proportions that New Fastoon had never seen before! It certainly made things much more interesting! Well... sometimes, at least...

Right now, Spiff was droning on about budget numbers. Ratchet didn't grasp any of it. Since lombaxes don't pay taxes to the council, he couldn't figure out what budgets Spiff was even talking about. It just didn't make any sense to him. Fortunately, Clank had done some theoretical accounting for Megacorp when he was working under Fizzwidget, so these theories of imaginary income and irrational expenses made sense to him. Clank was the one behind all his votes on the topic. Literally. Ratchet and Clank had worked out a code on how the lombax should vote on budget matters without being too obvious - one shock for yes, two shocks for no. He was pretty sure the others on the council knew about it, including Spiff, but they didn't seem to mind. If anything, they just followed his lead. In fact, Spiff was glad to finally have someone actually paying attention to this stuff who knew what he was talking about.

Ratchet smiled as the shocks caused his mind to drift back to the first time he tried to escape his sentence (not counting the door glove incident). He used an electric conduit to try to override the locking mechanism on the tracer. By providing a continued circuit, he hoped to trick the device into thinking it was still locked. He hadn't gotten out the door when the deputies stopped him. Rich personally stopped by to let him know that every councilor on record attempted the exact same trick at least once, and that he would have to do better than that. By saying it like that, Rich had elevated it to a kind of game; it added a bit of spice for both himself and the deputies, so Ratchet was more than willing to oblige...

Clank, riding on his backpack straps, game him two tiny electric shocks. Time to vote no...

Ratchet was really grateful that Clank had stayed with him. Life on New Fastoon had settled into a strange kind of rhythm. Talwyn, Cronk and Zephyr had moved out of the station and into the suite in the Nebula complex - the same apartment suite that Petrov and Reg set up for him last year. Talwyn continued her research in lombax studies, and had filled in many of the notes and questions left to her by her father.

They had still not succeeded in finding either Max or any more information about his own father, but they were still trying. Talwyn used the door glove to wander freely between Polaris and Leonid, and she had a number of leads. In fact, some hints had come from Sasha soon after they had settled in.

A grin spread on Ratchet's face. He thought back to when the hyperD link was first established. They downloaded a ton of data from IRIS using an override, but Ratchet made a few really long distance calls as well. His first one was to Al, and he had the engineer conference Sasha in. Ratchet and Clank told them what happened, how they dealt with the drophyds and what they had learned.

Al was very pleased with the neural matrix; he used the technology to fix up some of his implants. While he said the results didn't really change their operation, the interface was much smoother and more comfortable for him. Having experienced what a bad neural interface felt like first hand with the prototype dimensionator, Ratchet was very pleased that it had worked out well for Al. When Ratchet told him that he had three other people that wanted caps (Talwyn, Petrov and Reg; plus he wanted a spare for himself), Al just smiled and asked him to send the helmets and he'd take care of the rest. Ratchet put a package for Al in the last shipment to Solana, along with some other toys the engineer had requested and a few random surprises he though Al might enjoy tinkering with.

Ratchet was a bit embarrassed when he told Sasha about getting stuck on the council. After all, the main reason they broke off their relationship was because of his aversion to politics. She listened patiently with a strange look frozen on her face; when he first mentioned that he was drafted to the council, her reply was "You? On the council? _You?_" She then paused the video feed and muted the audio link, except for her telling him somewhat breathlessly to 'go on' periodically. On the somewhat eerily quiet link, Ratchet gave a short summary of how lombax politics worked, similar to what Doc T had told him when he and Clank first visited Leonid. He knew they heard it from him before, but it was more important and, well, personal to Ratchet now that he had a tracer around his ankle.

As he got to the part with the tracer, Sasha finally resumed the audio / video feeds. She had been laughing. Hard. The entire time. Tears were standing in her eyes and she was practically shaking. Ratchet was worried she might rupture something internally if she kept going like that. Eventually, she calmed down and muttered, "This I gotta see..." He propped his foot on the table in front of the video link and showed the tracer securely fastened around his ankle. Sasha collapsed into another fit of laughter, smashing her fist repeatedly against the desk and knocking over the stacks of paper.

"It's like a weird mix of G-SPAN and DreadZone," Ratchet concluded, repeating the horrifically accurate reaction he gave Petrov when the general first told him about the tracers.

Al looked up at that, and Ratchet quickly apologized. But the engineer shook his head and smiled, saying, "Don't worry about it. It is really funny! And a pretty good description... Have you tried shorting out the lock sensor?"

"Yup, second thing I tried. They said everyone does it, and I'd have t' do better than that..." Ratchet explained.

Al put his hand to his chin. "Can you send me one of those in your next package?"

Ratchet shook his head. "Nope. They won't go through a portal. Special alloy. That was the first thing I tried. Nearly lost a foot when the portal closed. But I can send ya the specs..."

Al nodded with a smile on his face. He loved a challenge. "We'll see if we can make things a little more interesting for them..."

With Al's help, Ratchet's second escape attempt was much more successful than the first. Al analyzed the specs he had sent, and gave him step by step instructions on what to do. From the terrace in the apartment, he was able to disassemble the tracer box, and separate out the alarm and test components from the tracking element. Using an extra power cell, he was able to power the tracker while keeping it isolated from the tracer.

The lombax smiled. He had tucked the tracker in his boot and did his self-check for the deputy at the door as normal. As soon as he was outside, he, Clank and Talwyn made their way to the landing pads and Aphelion. There, he planted the tracker in a public bathroom and launched. They spent a pleasant few days offworld, exploring the immediate region of space, checking out some of the sites that Melody had recommended, sending Petrov some 'wish you were here' messages from various tourist sites, dodging a few ministry ships along the way. Finally, they landed back on New Fastoon and teleported back into the apartment. Rich was not amused! Well, he was, but only unofficially. He gave them all kinds of lectures about responsibility and stewardship and the good of the council. After he had calmed down, even he had to admit that it was fun; right before personally attaching a newly upgraded tracer on him, daring him to try it again...

Zap, zap, zap... Three shocks. He needed to pay attention. Ratchet looked up and sat down at the council table next to Petrov. Petrov put his hand briefly on Ratchet's shoulder. Ratchet was very glad they were still friends (and family!); when he 'accidentally' broke Petrov's arm during that first council session, he was worried that he may have gone too far. But Petrov explained that he had been expecting far worse, and the hour or so in the med center gave him a chance to introduce Ratchet to his daughter Nichole. But he did ask that Ratchet keep his enthusiasm for the council to himself next time.

Spiff was on the final topic in the agenda. This was the only one that Ratchet really cared about today. "Item four three one, paragraph 'g'... The diplomatic representatives from the Solana galaxy are due to arrive from the Apogee station tomorrow morning at 11am. I know it's early for most of you, but I need a volunteer to act as their guide in the city and to represent the council during the negotiations." Spiff looked at Ratchet, saw that he was actually paying attention and nodded. "Do I have any volunteers?" All eyes went to Ratchet, and he raised his hand. Spiff nodded again. "Minister Ratchet has volunteered. Any questions?"

Ratchet nodded and asked, "Yeah, who's in the party?"

Spiff picked up the display in front of him and paged through it a bit. "Four people: the galactic president of Solana, the mayor of Metropolis on Kerwan, their technology advisor..." Ratchet nudged Petrov in the ribs. Petrov looked at him and Ratchet touched his cap. Petrov's eyes widened and he smiled. Hopefully Al had finished the work on the neural matrix caps and was bringing them along; and Ratchet wanted to see if he had any ideas about how to crack the new tracer for his next vacation / escape. In any case, it would be great having Al and Sasha in the city. Spiff continued, "... and a Captain Qwark."

Ratchet's ears fell slightly, and he muttered to himself, "Sacrifices have to be made..."

Petrov leaned over and whispered, "Maybe we can give'm somethin' shiny t' play with..."

Spiff started wrapping things up. Finally... "If there are no other questions, this concludes the business for today. I move we adjourn. All approving?" Nine hands went up. "Approved with a vote of nine to zero. Until tomorrow..."

As they walked out and retrieved their manifestors, Ratchet began filling Petrov in on the latest toy he had found in the CALR that he was personally sponsoring. They stepped on the teleporter and vanished.

* * *

Ratchet, Clank and Petrov materialized at the entrance to the hoverbike track. Clank dropped from the backpack straps and told Petrov that he would save him a place in the stands with Talwyn and Melody. He went over to the seats.

Meanwhile, Ratchet and Petrov spotted Reg in one of the alcoves alongside the track, tuning his 'bike. But there was something wrong with him. As they walked over to greet him, Ratchet noticed that Reg's tail was wrapped in medkit gauze from tuft to tush. What was even more unusual was that the gauze had been dyed a yellow color to almost, but not quite match his fur. It looked strangely out of place.

They talked for a while, but Ratchet could not pull his eyes off the gauze. Eventually, he blurted it out, "What happened to your tail?"

The conversation halted. Petrov looked at Ratchet and reproached him. "Ratchet, it's really impolite to discuss another lombax's fur problems. No matter how... obvious... or curious... you may be..." Petrov's eyes kept drifting to Reg's tail as well; he hadn't noticed it at first, having grown up alongside Reg, but after Ratchet pointed it out, it held his attention as well.

"I'm sorry," Ratchet apologized quickly. "I know. But it could be serious. After all, Doc T..."

Doctor Sherman Tesseract had died about two months after Ratchet was drafted to the council. The fur problems were just one of a number of symptoms that Doc T had been having, but did not tell anyone except Winston about. They kept very quiet about it, and he and Doc spent all of their time rebuilding the prototype. After they finished, Doc proudly saw it placed on permanent display in the Azimuth Memorial Museum. He passed away the next evening.

Reg held up his hand. "You're right. But it's not serious. Just a little, uh, misunderstanding..."

Ratchet looked up at him curiously. Petrov said, "You're never gettin' away with leavin' it like that..."

"All right," Reg sighed, and hung his head a little embarrassed. "Just don't tell anyone.

"Last week was the anniversary of Melody and I bonding. I had everything planned: a sitter for Justin, romantic evening at home, soft music, dim lights, blooms, gourmet dinner, the works. She came in, was surprised at the amount of effort I put into it. We had a great time. After dinner, she kisses me. She takes me by the hand and leads me to the bedroom. Still holding my hand, she slaps a neuralock on my wrist!

Ratchet and Petrov looked up at Reg's face. "What?" Ratchet blurted out.

"Melody very calmly explains that I had the date wrong. We decided to bond a year ago that night, but did not register it on the hyperband until the next morning..."

Ratchet groaned and put his hand over his eyes, shaking his head. Petrov gasped in horror, "Oh no..."

"Yeah... She reaches into a drawer 'n pulls outta set o' trimmers. She grabs my tail by the tuft, pulls it straight and very slowly shaves it clean - clear to the skin."

Ratchet kept his hands over his face shaking his head. Partly because he was sorry for his friend, but partly because he needed to hide the laughter he was fighting so hard to contain. Petrov didn't even try. He roared, practically shaking as he gasped for air. Reg looked down, a little embarrassed. When Petrov could get a breath, he asked, "So, what'd'ya do when the lock wore off?"

Reg was still embarrassed. "She puts the trimmers away 'n tells me she hope'd that'd teach me a lesson about the calendar. But the lock still had time on it. We talked, I apologized and after a while she apologized too, sayin' she overreacted. Time wore on 'n I was still stuck there; she promises she'd make it up to me. I asked how. Melody gets real close as the neurolock crumbles. She slaps on another one, and then spent the next ten minutes showin' me how she planned on makin' it up t' me when that lock wore off..."

Ratchet was a little embarrassed at this rather intimate commentary. Petrov was not to be deterred. "Was it worth it?" he asked with a leering grin.

Reg met his eyes without hesitation, and with a huge grin on his face sighed, "Yeah..."

* * *

Justin Solstice was curled up in a tight ball, sound asleep. A tiny buzzing purr rose from the carefully padded and decorated basket where the one month old lombax kit dozed. The afternoon sun shone on his golden fur, and he looked like a small yellow and orange puff against the blue blankets and toys that kept him company in the basket.

Talwyn watched the infant sleep. "Melody, he's just adorable," she said.

Melody Gaiden-Solstice looked on with a smile on her face. She was very tall and thin for a lombax, nearly Reg's height, but with a very slender build. Melody wore a rather functional pair of boots and jeans, but had on a loose fitting white shirt that seemed to billow with the breeze. She chuckled in answer to Talwyn's comments. "He's quiet now, but when he wakes up, he's louder than Reg! And his teeth are really sharp!" She looked down lovingly at the basket. "But these are the moments you enjoy."

Clank joined them and they spent a little time watching Reg, Petrov and Ratchet talking on the track. Petrov seemed really amused about something. Clank picked up a display tablet and began reading a 'bike repair manual. (Zenith and the Art of Hoverbike Maintenance, by Fritz Zenith)

"Melody..." Talwyn began a little hesitantly. "Can I ask you a personal question?"

Melody looked up a Talwyn somewhat curious. "Sure."

"How did you and Reg know... that you were bonded?" Talwyn asked. She met Melody's eyes, blushed and looked away. "For my research..."

Melody glanced at Clank. Clank turned his eyes pink briefly and listened in, merely pretending to read. Melody, Clank, Reg, Petrov, Zephyr, Cronk, Rich and Nichole all suspected something, but never said anything about it publicly; or to Talwyn or Ratchet out of respect.

Melody began, "Well, it didn't happen all at once. I guess there were a few signs. Looking back it was obvious. We were together a lot. Sometimes we'd spend the entire day together. Sometimes the entire night, too. We'd want to do everything with each other. Or, if it was something that didn't interest the other, we'd talk about it for hours.

"Reg would go on his 'bike trips and tell me all about 'em later on. I got interested, and we'd go wandering on his rocket sled, chasing the setting sun, seeing the stars come out and camping out under them. He even got a sidecar installed for me. I took Reg on a bunch of flights, showed him some of the out of the way spots on various planets I'd explored and some of the amazing nebulae I'd seen.

"Eventually, though, it was the little things. The way he'd get me a cuppa sludge and taste it first to make sure it was strong enough. That was actually what did it for us. One day I asked him why he kept tasting it, and he acted all surprised; he hadn't realized he was doin' it. Then we just looked at each other and knew."

Talwyn was silent. It amazed her how familiar all of this seemed. And the sludge story was almost dead on, except that she preferred it weaker than Ratchet, not stronger. Melody put her arm around Talwyn's shoulders and softly said, "I hope this helps with your 'research'...", putting a slight emphasis on the word.

Talwyn turned to her and smiled. "I think it does. Thank you."

They were quiet for a while. Melody's face took on a slightly wicked grin, and there was an evil gleam in her eyes. After all, she _was_ Spiff's older sister. "Here," she said, giving a small package to Talwyn from her manifestor.

Talwyn looked at the small pack of thin metal strips. "Thanks. Uh, what are they?"

Melody's eyes darted down to Ratchet, Petrov and Reg on the track, and then met Talwyn's, "They're neuralocks. Slap one of these on Ratchet. I guarantee it'll get his attention..."

* * *

Ratchet looked up at the stands. He could see Talwyn and Clank talking with Melody. From the look of the basket between them, Melody must have brought Justin with her. Melody gave something to Talwyn, and they spoke for a while. Then both of them started laughing. Talwyn looked over to him and smiled. She waved. Ratchet waved back, but there was something about her smile that bothered him; the fur on his ears tingled and a cold spot ran down his spine. Probably just his imagination...

Petrov was still busting Reg about his tail. Reg finally looked at Petrov and said, with a somewhat evil grin on his face, "So, how 'bout a friendly wager? Wanna put your fur where your muzzle is?" _That_ got Ratchet's attention. He had seen enough of these 'friendly wagers' between Reg and Petrov to know that they were neither very friendly, nor mere wagers...

"What'd'ya have in mind?" Petrov asked very cautiously.

Reg (R): "Ratchet and I race. I win, you shave your tail too!"  
Petrov (P): "If Ratchet wins, you get yer bonding date inked on yer tail!"

Ouch! Ratchet cringed. This was even uglier than usual. A lombax's tail was very sensitive to begin with. The thought of tattooing it made Ratchet shudder. And it was pretty pointless, since the fur would grow back and cover it anyway.

R: "Done!"  
P: "You have to show it to Melody!"

This was getting worse. Ratchet could just imagine Melody's reaction to that one...

R: "And Ratchet shaves his tail too!"

What? "Hey! Don't drag me inta..."

P: "Done!"

"Whoa!" Ratchet protested. "I want no parta this!"

Petrov grinned, "Too late."

Reg grinned as he put his hand on Ratchet's shoulder. "Don't worry. It doesn't hurt... much... And it'll grow back in a coupla weeks." Reg walked away to his bike. Petrov and Ratchet walked slowly to Ratchet's garage.

"That wasn't nice, Petrov," Ratchet began. "I told ya in the council..."

"I know. But Reg wouldn'ta done this if he didn't have some tricks up his glove! Try not t' think about us showin' up in council lookin' like that." He nodded his head in Reg's general direction. "No pressure." Petrov started walking to the stands, turned, grinned and shouted, "And watch yer back!"

Ratchet grinned back, "Yeah. Right. No pressure..."

Ratchet checked his hoverbike, then looked back into the stands and saw that Petrov was joining the others. He and Reg moved to the starting line, with the laser indicators still red.

"It doesn't hurt," Reg said with a smile. "And don't feel too sorry for Petrov; he brought it on himself. Don't worry if ya can't keep up, I've been doin' some tunin'..."

Ratchet smiled back. So had he...

The indicators turned green and their bikes lunged forward. At first they were pretty much even, and then Reg put on a burst of speed, pulling away from him. His thrusters were straining as they tried to put some distance between them. Ratchet grinned and he shook his head. Reg _had_ made some serious improvements; he had never seen Reg's hoverbike move that fast. That was no mere tuning job...

Ratchet popped the protective cover off a newly installed rocker switch on his handlebar. He engaged it, and the latest experiment from his friends in the Center for Advanced Lombax Research began its field trial. Doc's son Winston had introduced Ratchet to quite a few scientists there; mostly on the weapons, transdimensional and transportation teams. Ratchet already had a lot of practical experience in these areas and made friends there quickly. He gave them a number of 'special projects' to play with. One of them was an improved fuel additive. Technically, the research was justified to the council as a way to increase engine efficiency in all kinds of ships, but both Ratchet and his thruster-enthusiast friends in the CALR knew the real reason: it would also significantly improve speed and performance a lot closer to home...

As the additive was injected into his fuel stream, Ratchet's hoverbike sped forward, effortlessly closing the distance with Reg's laboring thrusters. Ratchet turned and smiled, taking his hand of one handle to wave briefly. He almost had a moment of pity when he saw the sick look on Reg's face... Nahhh... As Reg said, he brought it on himself. He punched the throttle and zoomed past Reg's hoverbike.

Ratchet watched as Reg drifted further and further back in the dust. Looking ahead, he had nothing but clear track in front of him. Ratchet opened the visor on his helmet and narrowed his eyes to slits against the rushing air. He loved the feel of the wind on his muzzle. Ratchet allowed himself a purr...

end.

* * *


	17. Microstory: Instincts

**Author's Note:**

Greetings!

The following is a microstory based on Homecoming and Relativity. This idea came about after I finished the main tales, but never developed into anything longer than a chapter. Written between 10 Oct 2008 and 15 Oct 2008, it takes place between the end of Relativity (Chapter 13 - Busted) and Relativity's Epilogue (A New Agenda). While it is still a bit rough, I have been told by those that I have shared it with that I really should publish it, even though I am not fully comfortable with this fragment yet and perhaps will never be.

So, for your entertainment... All standard disclaimers apply. Enjoy!

Paul G.

* * *

**Instincts**

Ratchet was already tired, and it was really starting to show. His ears were sagging a bit, his tail drooped to the ground and he was breathing a little heavily. Ratchet knew that it was not serious, but it felt unusual to the lombax that he could get so tired without at least some kind of weapon in his hand.

Ratchet sat down at on one of the kitchenette chairs in his penthouse suite, placing the crate on the floor next to him. They had only been in the suite for about a week; but in that time he had already done a year's worth of moving, and there was still a lot of work left to do.

Ratchet was used to traveling light. Neither he nor Clank really had that much 'stuff', and with all of the moving around they did, it made things a lot easier. When Reg and Petrov set up the apartment on New Fastoon, they had purchased all of the basics: furniture, appliances, bedding, audio / video center and even some media and artwork. Ratchet and Clank did not have to bring anything with them from their home dimension. Not that they had anything to bring anyway; what stuff they had was stored in their Metropolis apartment and all of that had been destroyed by the drophyds when Tachyon attacked Kerwan. Talwyn, Cronk and Zephyr were another matter...

This had been the fourth shuttle load of crates from the Apogee Station so far. Ratchet was stunned; he thought he had been everywhere in the station while he had stayed there, and could not have imagined this much material was stored anywhere inside the complex. There must have been at least a dozen extradimensional closets that he was not aware of to hold all of this... Each crate had been carefully labeled by Talwyn, showing the contents, who it belonged to, where it should be stored, in what order and position. Talwyn had mapped out all of the available storage in the apartment, and had carefully planned the location and destiny of every available cubic cubit of space, including the extradimensional closets in his own and Clank's private sleeping chambers! Not that Ratchet or Clank really cared; they were used to living out of their manifestors anyway.

Still, while Talwyn, Zephyr and Cronk were on the station packing and loading, it was up to him and Clank to unload it all and stow it away. And while Clank helped as much as he could, the tiny robot was easily overwhelmed with the sheer amount of material. Ratchet even thought of hiring a few luggerbots to help out, but Talwyn didn't think it would be necessary. But then, she was not the one hauling crates around. Fortunately, Talwyn promised that this load was the last.

Zephyr and Cronk had returned to the station to do a final check before transferring the authorization codes (minus Talwyn's personal override) to Jasmine Parallax, the newly appointed Ambassador to Polaris. Ratchet had met Jaz briefly; Spiff had introduced her to both Ratchet and Talwyn during the negotiations for renting the station to the Lombax Central Council. He remembered the ambassador as being about Rich Quantum's height (maybe a head taller than Ratchet) with lavender eyes and a grip that made Ratchet wince when she shook his hand. But he was also keenly aware of Talwyn's stare boring into him during that meeting, so Ratchet made sure that he did not make any glib or innuendo filled comments. Jaz had served in the LDM prior to being named ambassador, so she was well acquainted with Zephyr and Cronk's reputations. They had returned to the station together, and the two warbots were not expected back until the following week.

Talwyn, meanwhile, had gone to see Rich. Regional Minister Richard Quantum was still a little nervous around Ratchet. They both got along reasonably well, but Ratchet was still a little irked at being drafted to the council and Rich was torn between his developing friendship and his duties as Regional Minister. Because Rich was in charge of the LDM for Region 9 of New Fastoon, it was his responsibility to make certain that the councilors were kept track of. This included Ratchet's tracer, that he still had to wear any time he left one of his predefined, prescreened and presecured 'safe zones'. While Ratchet knew he was not a prisoner, there were times he felt that there was not all that much of a difference. He and Rich were getting along better now that Ratchet was settling into a routine, but it was still 'too soon' as Petrov put it.

Talwyn had gone to see Rich to check out the door glove from secure storage. Ratchet bristled slightly at the thought of that. Because Rich had seen Ratchet use the door glove, he knew that it might pose a means of escape from Ratchet's 'secure zone' suite. Therefore, Talwyn was required to store the glove in the regional ministry office. In addition, the LDM had reinstated and modified the alarms used while watching for a potential attack from Tachyon. If a dimensional portal opened inside any 'secure zone', maroon flags would go up and a squad of deputies would 'investigate'. And while Ratchet was grateful that Rich has told him this in advance, it was still annoying; it took out one of the escape routes Ratchet had been contemplating.

Talwyn needed the glove this afternoon to open a portal for Clank. The robot wanted to go to Solana to see Al; both to get some additional memory installed on his system board and to get a transD installed in his communication systems. Since he was going there anyway, Clank was bringing Al a small pack of toys that Ratchet had found that Al might like, including a transD for Al's shop. Ratchet was a little nervous about Clank going on his own like that, but it wouldn't be the first time. Clank said that he would stay with Venus while he was there, and Ratchet discretely left it at that. He remembered the time that Clank had walked in on Ratchet and Talwyn's conversation on the Apogee Station, and how embarrassed he was at Clank's dry query of if he was interrupting anything. Clank merely stated that he would return in a few days, and had prescheduled with Talwyn as to when she should open the portal in the unlikely event that the transDs did not function properly and he could not signal back.

Ratchet glanced up across the living space to the terrace. It was already starting to get dark. He did not expect Talwyn back for about an hour; she had been doing a lot of research at the Azimuth Memorial Museum, filling in some of the gaps in her father's notes. Ratchet had stayed at the suite to get the last of the crates put away.

With a sigh, Ratchet got up and grabbed the crate from the floor next to him. "Last one," he said to himself. He went to the extradimensional closet in Zephyr and Cronk's room, climbed up onto the stepladder and lifted the crate into place, so that its far edge rested at the top of the stack. According to the label, this crate contained Cronk's fishing gear. Great. From what Ratchet had seen of the local geography, he doubted that Cronk would be using this very soon. That's probably why Talwyn targeted it for such a hard to reach location.

Ratchet slowly slid the crate into place. But as he was doing so, the panel on the crate facing him caught on the upper lip of the crate below it. The crate opened slightly, and a series of small hydromines tumbled out. Ratchet quickly stuffed the box into place and slammed the crate shut, but a few of the explosives fell to the floor. They detonated on impact, blowing the stepladder he was standing on into a twisted lump and throwing Ratchet across the room. He landed hard, his left shoulder impacting on what was left of the ladder; he was dazed for a moment.

Ratchet's first thought (that was not an expletive) was one of amazement. Cronk must be used to fishing for somewhat bigger game than the artificial pond on the Apogee Station could support, and maybe he could use these with Petrov when they went after sewer shark someday. After the initial shock, Ratchet climbed to his feet. He was unharmed, but his left shoulder was in a lot of pain from where he was thrown against the ladder.

Ratchet's communication system chimed. His neural matrix automatically enabled the link before he had even started speaking. "Ratchet here."

"Minister Ratchet? This is Deputy Refractor. I am the on duty for this safe zone. I heard an explosion. Do you require assistance?"

Ratchet sighed. They didn't miss a single thing did they... Ratchet would have sworn that Rich hand picked every single guard that was stationed outside his apartment: his only 'safe zone' so far. (He would have been right; Rich _had_ personally selected all of his guards for that very reason.) "No, I'm okay. Some fishing tackle blew up. Thanks for checking, though."

There was a slight pause, as though the deputy was a little surprised about fishing tackle exploding. Ratchet at least got some slight satisfaction from that. "No problem, sir. If you need anything, just signal. Refractor, out."

Ratchet shook his head and sighed. He closed the closet and began tidying the suite, removing the twisted metal remains of the ladder and the burn marks from the hydromines. As he worked, his shoulder kept bothering him. Ratchet rotated his arm, trying to loosen the muscles. Reaching behind his back, Ratchet felt a tiny fragment of the ladder embedded through his flight suit into his shoulder. "Damn." It didn't feel as thought the fragment broke his skin or caused any real damage, but it certainly was uncomfortable.

Ratchet pulled the fragment out, bracing himself for any pain that might go with it. But there was none. His shoulder still hurt, but it was more a tightness than a sharp pain. Ratchet shook his head, examined the tiny fragment for blood (there was none visible) and discarded it. With his shoulder tightening up and with Talwyn due soon, Ratchet decided to take a hot hydroshower and see if that would help.

When Ratchet first encountered the other lombaxes, he thought the hydroshower/airblast systems that seemed to be the norm were rather archaic. While that was still very true, especially when compared with the electrostatic systems he was used to, Ratchet was gradually becoming used to the older technology. In fact, Ratchet could understand and was beginning to appreciate his fellow lombaxes' attachment to the older systems; while somewhat inefficient, they were significantly more luxurious and enjoyable than the newer systems, especially after a workout on one of Petrov's fitness courses (they weren't really all that hard) or after sitting in the council chamber for hours at a time (now _that_ was far harder than Ratchet ever dreamed). The heated water and steam was extremely good at relieving muscle aches, and that is just what he needed right now.

Taking off his flight suit, he noticed that there was more than the single hole from the fragment he removed. Looking carefully, he saw dozens of perforations in a grid pattern along his left shoulder and down the center of his back. The grid pattern matched what he remembered to be the friction tread of the ladder, but the holes meant that there might be other fragments stuck in his fur. Great. He felt around, and could feel sharp points sticking into his skin as he pressed on the fur. Wonderful.

Ratchet climbed into the shower and turned it on hydro at a very warm setting. The steam certainly helped, and the hot water was very soothing. Very cautiously, Ratchet worked a brush through the fur on his shoulder and back; at least, through the areas that he could reach. He did find quite a few metal fragments. They had not penetrated his skin, but were caught under his fur. That was not quite as bad, but still not good - it would be very easy for them to work their way in later, and the foreign bodies under the fur would be a constant irritant. He was getting itchy just thinking about it.

After a good few minutes in the hot water and steam, his shoulder felt a little better, but was still somewhat sore. Ratchet engaged the airblast jets and dried himself, taking extreme care to fluff the fur of his shoulder where he could reach. He heard a few more metal fragments fall from his fur to the drain. Ratchet cursed again softly and shook his head. He really did not want to have to go to the med center to get this checked out. The circumstances were so weird, he knew he would never hear the end of it.

At that moment, he heard Talwyn enter the suite. She called out, asking if he was around. Ratchet called back to her, his voice loud to carry over the rushing air. He brushed his shoulder fur again (hearing more bits of metal fall to the drain) and dressed in the ministry camouflage uniform that was in his manifestor. He stepped out of the stall and turned on the hyrdo briefly, to wash any stray splinters down the drain. His shoulder still hurt and Ratchet felt itchy, but he was not sure if that was because of fragments he had missed or if it was just in his mind.

With a sigh, he opened the bathroom door and walked down the hall to the main room. Talwyn was sitting at the dinette table, with a display pad in front of her. She had apparently ordered some pteradon from Jacek's, and was already munching on a leg when he approached. Talwyn looked up at him, dressed in the uniform and said, "You look rather official tonight. What's the occasion?"

Ratchet went over to the beverage dispenser, twisted the dial to ultra strength (Talwyn kept setting it to mild) and retrieved a flask of hot sludge. Returning to the table, he sipped at the sludge. He sat across from her and replied, "Nothin' special. Laundry day. I need a new flight suit. How'd everything go with Clank? Did he get t' Solana okay?" He selected a piece of the pteradon.

Talwyn looked up at him sharply. Ratchet got an uncomfortable feeling; he wasn't sure how she did it, but for some reason, she always seemed to know when he was not telling her something. It was uncanny. And sometimes, rather frustrating. But she did not comment on it yet.

"I opened the portal to Big Al's. Clank went though and pushed the service button. Al teleported in, said 'hi', and the portal closed. Hopefully you'll be hearing from him soon." Talwyn looked critically at the uniform, her face taking on a skeptical look. "Laundry day?"

Ratchet forced a grin. It _was_ a pretty weak excuse, even for him. "Long day. I'll tell yuh 'bout it later. The good news is all the crates're stored."

Talwyn's skeptical look disappeared and a slightly smug smile spread across her face. "Perfect! And everything fit, right?" Ratchet nodded. "Thought so! That's something my father taught me. An archeologist has to organize and map out spaces, store things in as little room as possible and then put them back later." She chuckled. "It makes moving a little easier..."

Ratchet grinned, thinking that it would have been even easier if they hired a few luggerbots. He took a bite out of the pteradon he was holding. It was very good, but he would have to find a few other restaurants as delivery alternatives. It was not wise to become too predictable - that is what got him into this mess with the council to start with. "Did Rich say anything?"

Talwyn shook her head. "Nothing important. He's still a bit nervous about you. I keep telling him that you're okay with it, but he still feels guilty..."

Ratchet interrupted, "Well, I'm not really okay with the council yet, but I'm okay with him. It wasn't his fault." Ratchet looked at the small table near the exterior door. The tracer was sitting there, waiting; a constant reminder that he was not really a free lombax. Ratchet took another sip of the sludge and reached with his left hand for another piece of pteradon. His shoulder was still sore, and he must have winced.

"What was that?" Talwyn's voice was filled with concern. "What happened to you?"

Ratchet sighed. It seemed like he was not going to get out of this. "I was putting Cronk's fishing tackle away when the crate opened. Some hydromines slipped out."

Talwyn gasped. "I thought he got rid of all his deep ocean gear..."

"Apparently not," Ratchet continued. "I got the crate closed, but a few mines detonated. It blew the ladder apart 'n I landed rough. My shoulder went right into it. Some fragments got through the flight suit. I'm just sore..." Seeing Talwyn's face, he quickly added, "I'm okay, though. Nothin' serious."

"Did you get all of the metal out?" Talwyn asked a bit worried.

"Most of it. I think."

"Why didn't you go to the med center and get checked out?"

Ratchet grinned, a little ashamed. Then, in his Petrov imitation, he continued, "And admit that the Dread Pirate Ratchet was felled by mere fishing tackle?"

Talwyn laughed. She stood up and went around the table to stand behind him. She still had the display pad in her hand. "Take off your shirt and let me look. You don't want to leave metal filings under your fur."

Ratchet took off the uniform shirt. Talwyn put the display pad next to him on his left. She removed her gloves, laying them on the pad and looked very carefully at Ratchet's back. "You don't seem to have any visible marks..." She touched his shoulder. Ratchet stiffened, his back becoming rigid. "Sorry. I didn't know it was that sore."

Ratchet tried to say that it wasn't, but his muttered reply was lost. When she touched his back, it felt almost as though he had been hit with an electric shock. His fur was tingling and his hands were a little shaky.

Talwyn continued to gently probe his fur, her face near his back carefully examining it, pausing every now and then to remove a small metal filing. "I think you won, but the ladder still got a good piece of you..." she joked. Ratchet just nodded, somewhat numb.

Talwyn finished her examination. "Okay. I've got all the metal out. Nothing went through the skin, but there were still a few pieces in the fur. That should probably feel better. Hmm... Your shoulder is still really stiff." Talwyn put her hands on it and began to slowly, but firmly, knead the muscle of Ratchet's left shoulder.

Ratchet's numbness spread. His eyes were wide, and it felt as though his fur was arching with static electricity. He just didn't understand it. Gradually, he became aware of Talwyn's perfume. He didn't know where she picked it up, but it was strangely intoxicating. Ratchet sighed, and then...

Talwyn stopped working on Ratchet's shoulder. "Are you... _purring_?" she asked in stunned disbelief. When Ratchet did not answer, she leaned her head in closer, so that she was peering over his left shoulder, her ear near his muzzle. Ratchet's fur tickled the side of her face.

It happened so quickly. Ratchet could feel her face close to his fur. He turned suddenly and nipped her on the shoulder, near the base of her neck. It shocked them both.

Talwyn jumped backward with a slight scream. "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" She grabbed her gloves and the display pad from the table and slapped Ratchet across the side of the muzzle with them.

The lombax's nose was quite sensitive, and it hurt enough to shake him out of his stupor. He brought his hand up and rubbed his nose a bit, still a little stunned. He could see the display pad still in her hands, cracked along the center, with the top half of the display flickering on and off as the power and data leads made intermittent connections with the substrate. Ratchet looked in her eyes, and saw that she was angry, shocked and more than a little scared.

"I'm sorry," Ratchet muttered. "I don't know what happened..."

That was all he managed to get out. Talwyn dodged around the lombax, went to her sleeping chamber and sealed the security bolts shut.

Ratchet grabbed his shirt and followed her, putting it on as he went down the hall. The stiffness in his shoulder was all but forgotten.

"Talwyn, please. Open the door. I'm sorry," Ratchet said over and over, in a few variations.

"Get out of here. I tried to help, and you bit me! You _bit_ me!" Talwyn sounded really pissed at him.

"Please. I'm really sorry. Open the door." Ratchet moved to the control pad on the side of the door and began entering in the override code.

Talwyn suddenly became silent. In a very cold voice, she said, "Get your paws off that panel. I have my blaster; don't think I won't use it!"

Ratchet froze. His ears and tail drooped as he stared for a moment at the closed door. His voice raw with emotion, he said, "I'm sorry. I'll go."

Ratchet entered the main kitchenette and living quarters of the suite. He looked around numbly. Leaving the remains of their meal untouched, he turned off the light and walked to the door. As he got there, his eyes were drawn again to the tracer. A snarl made it to his lips as he remembered that he would have to be 'checked' by the deputy. Ratchet grabbed the tracer and turned, moving out onto the terrace. He stalked over to the potted thorntrees and threw the tracer over the edge. It fell for approximately three cubits, but was suddenly caught by an attraction beam and guided safely down to the manager's desk by the main entrance. He watched as the manager looked at the tracer and glanced up the side of the building to his suite.

Ratchet backed away from the edge. A forcefield sprang up covering the archway leading back into the suite, summoned by his neural matrix. Ratchet then sighed, removed his cap and stowed it into his manifestor manually. He settled into one of the pair of outdoor chairs on the terrace and stared up at the stars. With his thoughts and emotions in a horrible jumble, it took a long time for the lombax to fall asleep.

* * *

Ratchet was already awake by the time the sun broke the horizon to the west. He had slept very fitfully, when he was able to doze off at all. Looking out at the rising sun, Ratchet straightened out the uniform he was wearing, retrieved his cap from his manifestor and put it on. He lowered the forcefield and returned to the suite.

The table was still cluttered with the remains of the previous evening's meal. Ratchet cleared up the debris and cleaned the kitchenette. He walked down the hall to the bathroom, pausing briefly as he passed Talwyn's door. He noticed that the security bolts were still enabled. His tail and ears drooped and he went into the bathroom to clean himself up. Today was a council session, so he would be expected there in a few hours.

After he was finished, Ratchet changed out of the uniform into his older flight suit, the one from Kerwan. At least it still fit properly and was not perforated in the back. He grabbed the damaged flight suit from the floor of the bathroom where he had left it the previous evening and put it into the disposal for recycling.

Ratchet walked down the corridor again, pausing at Talwyn's door once more. He was going to knock, but he just couldn't think of anything to say. With his ears drooping even further, he continued on through the living space and kitchenette to the main entrance. Looking at the empty table next to the door, Ratchet thought back on his fit of pique the previous evening when he threw the tracer off the terrace. "Great," he mumbled to himself. How was he going to explain this to the deputy?

Ratchet opened the door and stepped out. The on duty deputy came to attention. Ratchet turned to him, about to speak, when he noticed that the lombax had his tracer in his hands. A wave of relief filled Ratchet, and he visibly relaxed.

"Uh, Minister? I think you dropped this," the deputy said, indicating the tracer.

Ratchet forced a small grin, "Yeah... Sorry about that..."

The deputy smiled back. "No problem. It's happened before. This is nothing; Minister Wavelength used to encase his tracer in all kinds of stuff: metals... ice... plaster... My personal favorite was when he embedded the thing in a flavored gelatin mold, complete with bits of fruit floating in it..."

Ratchet's grin grew wider and less forced. He hadn't met Petrov's father-in-law yet, but he could imagine... "Tasty and functional. Nice touch..." Ratchet put his foot on top of the box next to the deputy's station, and allowed the deputy to attach it to his ankle. The self-check passed. "Thanks."

The deputy grinned, "Anytime." But then his smile faded. "Are you okay? It looks like you had a rough night?"

Ratchet sighed and his ears drooped a little. "Yeah..." Ratchet looked around, not really wanting to provide any more detail. "I'd better get going. Thanks again, Deputy..." Ratchet searched for a name tag or identification.

"Resonance, sir," the deputy eagerly provided. "Timothy Resonance. Call me Tim."

"Thanks, Tim," Ratchet said as he shook the deputy's offered hand. He then turned and went to the waiting teleporter. Ratchet climbed onto it and thought about the council chamber. The arms shot up, and he was gone.

Ratchet materialized in the outer office of the Lombax Central Council. The place was still very quiet. Most lombaxes tended to sleep in and not really become active until later in the morning. It seemed that his habit of getting up with the sun was only really shared by Petrov and sometimes Spiff. He walked across the deserted hall to the side entrance to the council chamber. Walking through the outer door, he checked his manifestor into his locker, sealing it with a forcefield. His was the only one there so far; Petrov must be running late. Nodding to the on duty deputy, Ratchet went into the empty council chamber.

Ratchet did not notice the ornately carved table, inlaid with metal and crystal to resemble the starburst pattern from the Court of Azimuth. Nor did his notice the plush maroon carpeting, recently cleaned to remove the grease stains from Reg's boots. Dully, he circled the table and took his seat. He picked up the display pad with the day's agenda on it, took off his tracer * and boots, leaned back, propped his bare feet on the table, and started blankly at the displayed agenda. He clicked on a surfer program, and started searching; hoping to figure out what happened to him the previous night.

(* - Spiff, having grown tired of Petrov smashing his tracer into the chairs all the time and watching him teach Ratchet the habit as well, finally had the council chamber itself declared as a safe zone. With the guard stationed outside and the physical, electronic, quantum and dimensional defenses and shielding, it was probably the most secure spot on the entire planet anyway. No special precautions were needed, other than to log the coordinates in the tracer datastore.)

Ratchet was so lost in his searching that he did not notice Petrov walk in at first.

"Hey, Tiny!" Petrov said, a grin on his face. "You look comfortable..."

"Hey..." Ratchet replied, not even looking up.

Petrov looked at the younger lombax, noted the droop in his ears and tail and the tired look in his eyes. "What's up? Everythin' okay?"

The concern in Petrov's voice got Ratchet's attention. He cleared the display tablet, tossed it back on the table and sat up. Ratchet met Petrov's eyes. They were currently the color of a blue ocean just before a storm.

"Hi, Petrov. How's the arm?" Ratchet tried to deflect the conversation a bit. He knew perfectly well that Petrov's arm had been broken a few days ago. He had broken it himself! But he also knew that his daughter Nichole had quickly healed it in the med center.

"It's fine," Petrov chuckled. "It's nice t' see yer so enthusiastic 'bout the council. But gettin' here this early's a little extreme. Out with it! What's wrong?"

"I dunno," Ratchet admitted, looking down to the carpeting. "I... I lost control..." He lifted his head and stared into Petrov's eyes. Very quietly, he said, "I bit Talwyn..."

Ratchet did not see any sign of the shock he expected to appear on Petrov's face. Instead, Petrov's eyes widened slightly, his ears perked, and a small grin appeared on his muzzle. Petrov quickly circled around to take his seat next to Ratchet. Sitting on the very edge of it, he eagerly said, "Yeah... And..."

"She hit me across the nose with a powered up display tablet."

Petrov's grin dissolved in confusion. His ears drifted a little lower and a puzzled look filled his eyes. "Huh?" was all Petrov said.

"She stormed away and locked herself in her chamber," Ratchet babbled, "I told her I didn't know what happened, I told her I was sorry, I asked her..."

Petrov interrupted. His puzzled eyes were fixed on Ratchet's as he said, "Wha'd'ya mean, ya didn't know what happened? Didn't ya tell'er..." Petrov stopped mid-question. His eyes got very wide, and he leaned back in the chair. "Oh..." He looked Ratchet over, taking note of the Kerwan flight suit. Petrov drew a sharp breath and said again, "_OH!_" only louder and with a different emphasis, as though he just realized something.

"What?" Ratchet asked. He wasn't sure what Petrov was thinking about, but it certainly sounded like he knew what was going on.

Petrov glanced around the empty council chamber, then towards the door and finally again at Ratchet. "Get yer stuff," he said. "We're goin' for a walk."

"What? Now?" Ratchet was surprised. The council meeting was supposed to start in about an hour or two, and the other ministers would be showing up pretty soon.

"Yeah. Now." It wasn't a request. "Move!"

Ratchet grinned slightly. Petrov may have retired, but he was still a general and accustomed to being obeyed. Ratchet quickly pulled on his boots and snapped on the tracer, replying with a chuckle, "Sir! Yes, sir!"

Petrov looked up at that, chuckled and his mood softened a little. "Yeah... Sorry 'bout that, Tiny. Habit..." He got serious again. "Come on. I wanna get outta here before anyone shows up."

They left the council chamber and retrieved their manifestors. While Ratchet waited near the teleport pad, Petrov approached the guard. "We're steppin' out fer a while. Don't even think about tryin' t' call us. I'm settin' up a new fitness course; if you don't wanna be the first 'n only test subject, you better make sure we're not bothered. Got it?"

The poor deputy snapped to attention. "Yes, sir! Uh... Minister!"

As Petrov walked to join Ratchet near the pad, the deputy met Ratchet's eyes. "You don't have to threaten, you know. All you had to do was ask..."

Petrov pulled Ratchet onto the pad with him and said in a loud voice, "Med Center".

They materialized in the waiting room / triage center of the medical center for Region 9. The place was almost completely empty, except for a diagnostic bot poised in its charging station. Ratchet was about to move towards the bot to announce himself when Petrov grabbed his arm.

"Not that way," Petrov said. "Follow me."

He led Ratchet down a back corridor to the medical staff's break room. There were a lone female lombax there, caught in the change of shift, preparing for her day. Petrov knew her. "Hi, Dot. Just passin' through..." Petrov continued to lead Ratchet through a maze of back corridors until he came to another teleporter pad. Petrov pulled Ratchet onto the pad with him and said in a loud voice, "Lombax Defense Ministry, Regional Office". The scanners shot up again.

They materialized in Petrov's old office on the western edge of Region 9. Rich now was the regional minister, and had done a little remodeling of the old building. The BetaTex was gone, replaced with a new bank of computers and transD equipment. The bunk was still there, as was the recently cleaned food preparation center. Rich was sitting behind the desk, reading from a display tablet. He did not look up, but just waved to them.

Petrov looked at Ratchet. "Summon another teleport pad with your matrix." Ratchet did so and they both climbed on. "Your pick this time," Petrov said.

Rich finally looked up, smiled at the pair and said, "As if we can't track that..."

Ratchet grinned at Rich, waved, said "Hi!" and thought of the public hydro fountain in Azimuth Park. The scanner arms shot up, and they teleported once again.

They materialized next to the lamp post and the public hydro fountain. Petrov looked around. "Nice choice. Let's walk..." Petrov walked slowly along the hard packed earth, leaving the path and following the course that Clank took when he had dragged the unconscious Ratchet out of public view.

"What's with all the teleporting and secrecy?" Ratchet asked.

Petrov looked at him as they strolled along the desolate landscape that had been modeled to resemble the original Fastoon. "It's not really secret," he said. "It's just... private. Si'down. We need t' talk."

They sat on the dry soil. Ratchet stared at Petrov, wondering what was going on. Petrov seemed a little uncertain of himself. Almost a bit nervous. Or embarrassed. Finally, Petrov began, "Look. It's not serious, but it's important. Tell me everything that happened last night. Don't leave anything out, no matter how small the detail."

Ratchet was a little ashamed of himself for his behavior the previous evening, so he had a bit of trouble starting out. But eventually he managed to tell Petrov everything. Ratchet started with the fishing tackle and the explosion of the hydromines, moving on to the metal fragments and Talwyn's return. He told Petrov how they started dinner, Talwyn noticed his shoulder, examined it, removing some metal filings. Ratchet told Petrov how he felt strange, how he noticed Talwyn's perfume, how he nipped her. He then went into great detail of how he tried to apologize, as though trying to prove his case to Petrov since Talwyn would not listen.

Petrov listened to the entire story patiently. He started nodding throughout the description of Talwyn's examination and Ratchet's unusual reactions, with a strange grin creeping over his face. Petrov cringed a little when Ratchet described Talwyn hitting him with the pad, and again at Ratchet's admission that he didn't know what happened. When Ratchet had finished, Petrov nodded and looked into Ratchet's eyes.

"First off, don't worry 'bout what happened. It was perfectly normal. Well, maybe not the results... But the actions were. It was just a misunderstanding; I'm sure we can sort it out.

"Second..." Petrov hesitated, as though looking for words. "Don't take this wrong, but I prob'bly know you better than yuh know yerself."

Ratchet looked a little skeptically at Petrov with that one. But Petrov continued, "Serious. Don't forget the BetaTex. There're four people in this universe that can prob'bly say that: Doc T, Reg, Clank and me. Doc T saw a playback; Reg lived through it; Clank saw the recording..."

Ratchet interrupted Petrov here, "Actually, he heard the playback too..."

Petrov was taken aback by that. "I thought you were outta range..."

"I was, but his sensors are sharper than mine. My ears. You know what I mean..." Ratchet replied.

Petrov looked very sad at this news. "I'm sorry t' hear that. I owe him an apology. I never knew. Anyway, Clank saw both the recording and playback. So did I.

"I know yuh better than yuh realize. Don't take this wrong. Do you know why you 'n Angela broke up?"

The question completely surprised Ratchet. What did that have to do with anything? "...Yeah..."

Petrov looked into Ratchet's eyes, shaking his head. "Tell me."

Ratchet thought back. It had been a while.

Ratchet (R): "Well, she was quite a bit older than me."  
Petrov (P): "Not enough to matter."  
R: "She was really attached to her career."  
P: "You coulda stayed with her if yuh wanted to."  
R: "She wanted t' raise kits. We weren't, uh, genetically compatible."  
P: "Gettin' closer. But she's a senior geneticist, and yuh coulda adopted. Go on..."

Ratchet paused. There was another reason. He looked down to the ground.

R: "We weren't, uh, 'physically' compatible."

Petrov nodded. "Exactly. Yuh dated. 'N, to put it bluntly, yuh mated. But yuh were missin' a crucial bit o' data, and that's why it never worked fer either o' yuh."

Ratchet looked back up at Petrov with that statement. After all, he wasn't a kit anymore.

Petrov smiled. "I know you're not a kit." Ratchet blushed under his fur and hung his head a little. Was he _that_ easy to read? Did Petrov really know him _that_ well? Petrov continued, in a somewhat gentle voice, "But I know you weren't raised as a lombax."

Ratchet's head snapped up and he looked back into Petrov's eyes. There was sympathy there. It was not intended as an insult or to hurt him; it was merely a statement of the truth.

Petrov nodded. "I know how much it bothers yuh. I'm sorry. But this is somethin' specific t' lombaxes; somethin' we're told as kits. I told the twins when they were about yay high. (Petrov indicated a height of approximately one and a half cubits.) Sorry if I'm a little rusty...

"Every species has its own... uh... 'courtship rituals'. In some species, it's minor. Others have really strong instincts - things hafta be jus' right in order t' work..."

Petrov's communicator chimed. Infuriated, he stabbed at the button.

I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU I DIDN'T...  
Oh. Hi. Sorry Mel.  
Yeah, I know.  
Good! (to Ratchet) Talwyn is with Melody.  
Yeah, I've got Ratchet here.  
You realize what happened, right?  
Exactly.  
Neither of 'em knew.  
It was just a misunderstanding.  
Good. Same here.  
Yeah. I'm havin' 'The Talk' with Ratchet right now.  
You worry 'bout Talwyn; I'll take care o' Ratchet.  
Okay.  
Plenty o' time. He'll be ready.  
Now that's just cruel!  
Serious. They've got enough t' deal with.  
(chuckling) Okay, per'aps...  
Look, gimme a call when Reg gets back. I'm sure he'll wanna know. We can sync up then.  
Good catch. Thanks.  
Later.

Petrov looked at Ratchet. "Talwyn went t' Melody. Melody's tellin' 'er what happened, 'n that it was all just a misunderstandin'. You can relax 'bout that... I think... Where were we?"

Ratchet gave Petrov a somewhat sarcastic grin. "I think you were about t' tell me about the thorns and the screes..."

Petrov chuckled. "Uh... Yeah... I can leave them out. Anyway, the lombax species has very specific mating instincts; prob'bly evolutionary leftovers. It's not weird or anything. Well, not t' another lombax anyway. 'N as you found out with Angela, it's _possible_ t' mate without it, but neither o' yuh will enjoy it much." Petrov had that strange grin again, and Ratchet finally recognized it as a somewhat dirty leer...

Ratchet nodded. "Okay. That explains the past. What about last night?"

Petrov's leer grew a little wider. Then, as if remembering how important this was, he shook his head slightly and became more serious. "I said it wasn't weird or anything. It's actually pretty simple. So simple Talwyn did somethin' more than she intended."

"Yuh see, lombax courtship's three things: touch, smell 'n taste. Specifically, the touch o' yer partner runnin' her hands through yer fur, her scent 'n her taste. Once those three things're met, well, it gets a lot more intimate 'n a helluva lot more fun!" Petrov smirked again, and then became serious. "Talwyn ran 'er hands through the fur on yer back lookin' fer shrapnel, 'n started massagin' yer shoulder. How'd that make yuh feel?"

Ratchet was very embarrassed. He really cared for Talwyn, so he was deliberately trying not to rush things. And here he was responding reflexively to some kind of lombax specific foreplay. It seemed so... clinical. Ratchet also realized that there were some gaps in his 'education' that he hadn't expected. "It felt like my fur was full o' static..."

Petrov nodded. "'N that's when yuh noticed 'er perfume, right?"

Ratchet nodded.

Petrov grinned. "I'll betcha ten thousand bolts that Talwyn wasn't wearin' any perfume, 'n that she hasn't worn perfume since she was a kit."

Ratchet thought about it, and muttered, "No bet..."

Petrov nodded. "And then there's taste. It's normal fer a lombax t' nip their partner. Not enough t' break the skin or hurt 'em, but enough t' feel it. And o' course, taste it."

Ratchet looked at the ground.

Petrov put his hand on Ratchet's shoulder. "It's nothin' t' be ashamed of. Perfectly natural. What happened was a misunderstanding. Talwyn's not a lombax; she was jus' tryin' t' help. You didn't know what was happenin'; yuh couldn't stop 'er or explain. Now yuh both know. Where yuh go from here's between you two."

Ratchet groaned. "So what'd'we do now?"

Petrov chuckled. "I don't know 'bout what _we're_ gonna do. _I'm_ gonna go home, take a really cold hydroshower 'n go back t' the council chamber before Spiff starts lookin' fer us. I'll give him an excuse t' leave yuh alone."

Petrov stood and looked down at the younger lombax. "If I were _you_, I'd go home 'n take a really cold hydroshower too, call Jacek's 'n order Talwyn's favorite dinner. Mel's takin' her on a tour 'round the system, so she won't be back 'til nightfall. You'll also wanna ask Jacek about his nephew's 'forgive-me-blooms'. Given the circumstances, get at least level 7." Petrov smiled. "And when Talwyn gets home, grovel as though your life depends on it. It prob'bly does..."

Ratchet looked up at that. "Wha'd'ya mean?"

Petrov smile grew wicked. "I'm the one fillin' you in, but Talwyn's gettin' her info from Melody... Think about it... Better yet, don't think about it!!!"

Petrov turned and walked away, retracing their steps back to the path and the entrance to the park. Ratchet was left alone with his thoughts. As he started thinking about all Petrov had told him, the significance of Petrov's last comment struck him. "Damn." Ratchet dropped his eyes to the ground again. "I am so screwed..."

* * *

After sitting alone in the park for about an hour, Ratchet finally stirred. His situation had not improved, but at least he knew what was going on now. He summoned a teleporter pad and returned to the suite.

Ratchet decided to take Petrov's advice literally. After all, Petrov had been bonded once, and he certainly seemed to know what he was talking about. Right down to the amount of blooms to get and groveling to do. Removing the flight suit (and tracer), he climbed into the hydroshower again. At first, he kept it hot. The sore shoulder that had started all of the trouble seemed a lot better. Once he was fully relaxed, he steeled himself and twisted the thermal control all the way to cold. Ratchet nearly jumped out of his fur as the frigid water hit him. He was used to swimming in cold water, but it was never this icy! Even with the insulating layer of fur, his entire body went numb. Ratchet nodded, held his breath and plunged his head and ears under the jets of cold water. Perhaps that was the entire point.

After drying off (and warming up slightly) with the airblast system, Ratchet put on his LDM uniform again. He might as well try to be formal about things, and he didn't want to remind Talwyn about Kerwan or Solana. Moving around the suite, he cleaned up anything that looked even the slightest bit out of place, even dialing the beverage dispenser down to mild to match Talwyn's tastes. He put the tracer back on its stand and looked around with a satisfied nod. It was time for the next step.

Ratchet (R): "Jacek? Ratchet."  
Jacek (J): "Ratchet! How'ya'doin?"  
R: Not too good, actually. I'll get to that in a minute. Lemme order for delivery at sunset.  
J: Sure. Wha'd'ya want?  
R: Gimme a gravity well with the works. But hold the giant squid 'n hold the capsaicin.  
J: Fer Talwyn, right?  
R: Yeah.  
J: Anything else?  
R: Petrov mentioned something about 'forgive-me-blooms'...  
J: Oh. That explains why your not doin' too good. Yeah, my nephew's in the bloom business. How bad'ja screw up?  
R: Huh?  
J: On a scale o' one t' ten, how bad'ja screw up?  
R: (chuckling) Petrov recommended at least a seven. Make it an eight.

There was a sharp intake of breath from Jacek.

J: Oh... Oh-kay... What's 'er temper like? Fire or ice?  
R: (without any hesitation at all) Both!

Again, another sharp intake of breath, followed by a low whistle from Jacek.

J: What'sa matter? Not enough adventure on the council so you're gettin' a death wish?  
R: (chuckling again) It wasn't my fault.  
J: It never is. What kinda displays? We've got glass, metal 'n Shatterglas.

Ratchet had never heard of that one.

R: What's Shatterglas?  
J: Regular glass is just that. Metal has a nice, unbreakable trillium plating. Shatterglas is prob'bly what you want, though. When she throws 'em at you, they don't hurt on impact and crumble into powder. No sharp edges t' cut you with like regular glass, and she can't beat you with it repeatedly like metal.

Ratchet nodded.

R: Shatterglas. Definitely. Great idea! Who came up with that?  
J: My sister. Her son runs the bloom business, but she's the chemist in the CALR that comes up with the ideas. She's made a tonna bolts on the stuff. Wha'd'ya do to deserve this?  
R: What makes you think it was my fault?  
J: A) It's always the male's fault. B) You're the one buyin' the blooms.  
R: (chuckling) Good point.  
J: We can deliver now if the coast is clear. If she's around we charge extra for hazard delivery.  
R: Now's fine. Just charge my account, okay.  
J: Fine. And sorry to hear about what happened. I didn't know we were bein' watched.  
R: I know. Don't worry about it. It was just a matter of time.  
J: Lemme know if things work out with the blooms. Good luck! From the sound of it, you'll need it!  
R: (chuckling) Thanks. Later.

As the communication channel disconnected, a series of extremely large bloom arrangements teleported into the suite. There were a dozen large pedestals made of a slightly greenish tinted glass, each one supporting an arrangement of local flowers (Ratchet recognized them by sight, but did not know what they were yet) tastefully bunched and arranged around a crimson thorntree spike. In addition to that, there were three smaller vases with a similar combination, a hand bouquet and a flat bunch that looked like it was a pillow cover.

The scent of the flowers became a bit overpowering for Ratchet, so he moved the larger pedestals onto the terrace, arranging them around the perimeter, with one placed near Talwyn's chair. The pillow cover he placed in her sleeping chamber, and he placed one vase on the kitchenette table, one on the living area table and one in the bathroom.

Looking around, Ratchet was very impressed with Jacek's attention to detail. He noticed that even the tips of the thorntree spikes had been carefully blunted by hand, so that they could not be used as stabbing weapons. When everything was set up, Ratchet noticed a small plate of extra green glass. There was a note on it that said "Shatterglas - test sample". Trust Jacek to think of everything... With a smile, he brought the sample out onto the terrace. Standing next to one of the thorntree pots (where he hoped any debris would not be visible), Ratchet held out his arm, grimaced and hit himself with it as hard as he could. He barely felt the impact, and a trickle of fine powder drifted down around his glove to be blown away by the wind. Ratchet grinned. He could understand why Jacek's sister made a ton of bolts on her invention!

At this point, he was as ready as he would ever be. Looking at the sky, he had at least an hour left before sunset. He sat down in the terrace chair to wait and stared out over New Fastoon. Ratchet's mind drifted. He wished Clank were here. Not that Clank would be of any help; if anything, the little robot would probably be extremely amused by the entire situation. But just to have someone to calm him down; to talk to while waiting...

* * *

After what felt like an epoch, the sun finally began to set on the eastern horizon. There were a pair of flashes from the kitchenette; two teleports. One was probably the gravity well from Jacek. The other one...

"Ratchet?" Talwyn called out, a little tentatively.

"I'm on the terrace," the lombax replied. He stood up and looked into the suite. Talwyn was there, with a strange looking hand held electronic device. She placed it on the table and came out to join him.

"Hi," she said, a little nervously.

"Hi," Ratchet replied. All of the lines he had rehearsed while waiting for sunset had flown from his mind, and he was at a loss for words.

Talwyn looked around and saw all of the blooms. Her face cracked into a strange smile. "For me?" Ratchet nodded. Talwyn moved to the nearest pedestal and sniffed at the blooms. Then she looked at the Shatterglas base very carefully. Talwyn chuckled, and with a quick movement slapped at the pedestal with the back of her gloved hand. The pedestal crumbled into dust, but she caught the bloom arrangement with a quick grab as though she expected it to fall. She looked at Ratchet. "Shatterglas? I take it you were expecting fireworks."

Ratchet could not meet her eyes in his embarrassment. He looked over the edge of the terrace to where the sun had dipped below the horizon. "Maybe..." he admitted. "How'd'ja know?"

Talwyn smiled. "Mel told me all about what to expect, and what to look for. Reg personally sponsored Jacek's sister in the CALR. His cut on the profits paid for his last hoverbike. Melody also told me... a lot of other things..."

Ratchet finally looked into Talwyn's eyes. "I'm really sorry. It was a mistake..."

Talwyn's face fell slightly, as though somewhat hurt.

Ratchet tried to recover, his words tumbling over each other. "No! Wait! I didn't mean it like that! Really! It's not that I don't want to. I do! But not like that. Not by accident. We didn't..."

Talwyn kissed him lightly on the muzzle to shut him up and stop his babbling. She looked him in the eyes and their gazes locked. "I know," Talwyn said. "Neither of us knew. Mel told me all about it, and she told me Petrov told you. Last night was an accident; let's just leave it at that. Okay?" Talwyn smiled slightly.

Ratchet returned the smile. "Okay. Thanks." Ratchet looked to the kitchenette. "I got you dinner, if yer hungry."

Talwyn smiled, and there was something slightly unnerving about her grin that made Ratchet a little edgy. "I brought something for you too..."

They went back inside and sat down at the table. The gravity well was on it, still hot from Jacek's prep center. Ratchet glanced at the electronic device, unsure of what to make of it.

"A gravity well?" Talwyn scanned the ingredient list and saw what was (and more importantly, what was not) on it. "Thank you, Ratchet!"

"Enjoy," Ratchet said. He got up to get two flasks of sludge from the dispenser. He made sure it was dialed down to mild and got one for Talwyn. He took a tiny sip. It was way too weak for him; it barely even made the fur of his muzzle tingle. But that was the way she liked it. Ratchet handed her the flask, dialed the dispenser up to ultra and got one for himself. The fur on his muzzle started tingling even before the flask got close enough for his first sip of the noxious brew. Perfect! He sat down at the table again.

Talwyn had not touched her gravity well yet. Instead, she was tinkering with the device she had brought. Seeing Ratchet's curious look, she explained. "It's a metal detector. With everything that happened, we never did make sure that all the filings were out of your fur."

Ratchet relaxed. He nodded. Talwyn went around the table and moved the device around on his back, over the uniform shirt. It made a quiet, periodic clicking sound as it scanned. "Formal dress, I see," Talwyn muttered. "Still laundry day?"

Ratchet chuckled. "No. I figured the camouflage might be handy if I had t' hide in a hurry."

Talwyn laughed. The device suddenly gave off a series of loud tones. Ratchet could feel it near the middle of his back - a spot that he had trouble reaching. But he did not remember any holes in the flight suit in that area. Talwyn sighed. "Take off your shirt," she said in a resigned voice. Ratchet did so.

Talwyn moved around so that Ratchet could see her. She put the detector down, removed her gloves, then held up a long set of metal tweezers. "See? Just tweezers..." Ratchet chuckled. She wasn't taking any chances this time.

Talwyn probed under Ratchet's fur with the tweezers, and brought them to a somewhat pinching close in an area of his back. Ratchet personally thought it was a little too far to the right to be where the detector gave the alarm, but she could see the spot better than he could. "Got it," Talwyn said, dropping the tweezers onto the table.

Ratchet took another sip of his sludge. "Thank..."

His "thank you" to Talwyn was suddenly cut off. Talwyn had placed her warm hands in the small of his back, and she was running them up his spine, underneath his fur against the grain. Ratchet's back went rigid and he felt that static electric sensation in his fur. His hands started trembling, spilling a bit of sludge from his flask. But at least he knew what was going on this time, and could say something.

"Talwyn? What are you doing? I thought you talked to Melody!"

Talwyn leaned over, near Ratchet's left ear. He could feel her face very close to his fur. And even though Ratchet knew that Talwyn wasn't wearing perfume, he would have taken Petrov's ten thousand bolt bet at that moment.

Talwyn spoke in a very quiet, but very clear voice. "Ratchet. Melody and I _did_ talk. And I know _exactly_ what I'm doing. Do you?" Talwyn's face moved away from Ratchet's ear, and she very gently nipped Ratchet on his left shoulder.

Ratchet felt a sudden jolt of electricity. His eyes opened very wide and the sludge flask fell from his shaking hand.

[end.]

* * *


	18. Microstory: Registration

**Disclaimers:**

The following is a microstory based on the rest of my Leonid Stories (Homecoming, Relativity and Instincts). It started out as a single (somewhat soppy and sentimental) plot idea, but the story evolved somewhat and rapidly expanded well beyond what I had planned for it. Written between 15 Jan 2009 and 22 Jan 2009, with a bit of proofreading afterward, it takes place approximately one week after Relativity's Epilogue (A New Agenda).

For anyone interested in the chronological order of my fics and microstories, it is:

Homecoming: Prologue  
Homecoming  
Relativity: Prologue  
Relativity  
Instincts  
Relativity: Epilogue  
Registration  
Homecoming: Epilogue

Recommended reading order:

Homecoming  
Relativity  
Instincts (Bonus Chapter of Relativity on )  
Registration (Bonus Chapter of Relativity on )

All standard disclaimers apply, and as always I reserve the right to edit or tweak the text as I see fit and want to improve or correct it. So, for your entertainment... Enjoy!

**Edit:** I decided to publish the closing scenes that I had thought of while writing the story, but did not include originally. I think it makes a better conclusion to the story. _(06 Feb 2009)_

* * * * *

**Registration**

The formal reception hall of the Lombax Central Council was tastefully decorated for the occasion. While the traditional maroon and silver banners of the lombax nation still hung from the high ceiling, they were now accompanied by the navy and gold of the City of Metropolis on Kerwan and the green and bronze of the Galactic Rangers from the Solana galaxy. The floor was tiled with large metallic plates, inset with finer metals and crystals to replicate the starburst pattern of the Court of Azimuth. While Fastoon had been officially abandoned and was now only the province of lombax archeologists and historians, many of the symbols and vestiges that made it the central hub of the lombax people had been replicated in the Leonid galaxy on New Fastoon. It was in this chamber that the lombaxes had established diplomatic ties with many of the species they encountered in their adopted dimension, and where they met with their allies in times of war. The actual council chamber, with its rich maroon carpeting, heavy table and set of nine chairs, was located on the floor above this one, making this room the outer sanctum - the closest that anyone outside the lombax council could ever approach the actual seat of power of the lombax nation. Officially, anyway.

Not that it was that big a deal, Ratchet thought to himself. He knew, as did everyone else on New Fastoon, that the 'lombax nation' was really nothing more than a convenient illusion. They had no real power. Their main goal was to be a point of contact to other races and to try and keep their rather individualistic people from accidentally wiping themselves out. Lombaxes by nature had little use for government; but given the curiosity and recklessly adventurous tendencies of the species, they needed one to act as a stabilizing force. Someone had to do it. And those that did, the Lombax Central Council, did not do so willingly! They were all forced into service, drafted based on their ability from the ranks of the military, adventurers and administrators. Ratchet had been drafted just over a year ago when he had first returned to New Fastoon. And, just to make sure that the councilors kept on the job, each was fitted with a tracer - a device that continually reported their position. Ratchet had already escaped once, just for a vacation, but the new version of the tracer was a little tougher to crack.

Ratchet shifted his weight and fidgeted with the collar on the starched white shirt of his rather uncomfortable diplomatic uniform. The short lombax was dressed completely in white, from the stiff, short sleeved shirt with the tight collar that was giving him so much grief, to the white uniform jeans immaculately pressed with creases in the appropriate places, to his white leather dress gloves. The only traces of color of any kind on the lombax were the greenish crystal of his manifestor, the studded cap he wore that contained Al's neural matrix that he refused to go without even under these circumstances, and the yellow, orange and brown of the exposed fur of his head and ears, upper arms, bare feet and tail. Ratchet fussed with the collar again. He didn't understand the symbolism of the uniform from the perspective of lombax history, but it reminded him very uncomfortably of the prison garb he wore in Galattica, minus the stripes.

The reason for all of the formality stood before him. An open dimensional portal currently linked the reception hall with the lombax embassy on the Apogee Station in the Polaris galaxy. The diplomatic delegation from Solana was about to return to their home dimension. Ratchet had been their host and their guide on New Fastoon throughout their stay. And while the reason for their visit was official, to open diplomatic ties between Solana and the lombax people, there were a lot of other things they were able to do in an unofficial capacity during their stay. Ratchet hoped they had as much fun as he did while they were here, and in a lot of ways it had been all too brief. But he knew it was time for them to return home.

President Phyronix had been rather nice, but he was still very much a politician (that alone made Ratchet's ears twitch), was still very protective of his daughter Sasha and still kept calling him 'Jeeves' on occasion after his bit part in the Secret Agent Clank holovid series. Ratchet sometimes wondered if the cazar would ever realize that he was not really a chauffer, or that Clank was not a secret agent... And then, there was Qwark! Ratchet shook his head; he might not miss either of them, but he would certainly miss not having Al and Sasha around. And while he could talk with them anytime he liked over transD, it just wasn't the same. It was fun watching Al exploring the technology of the lombax homeworld like a kit in a toy shop. Sasha, meanwhile, seemed content just talking with Clank, Talwyn and himself. And while Ratchet knew that they had to go back to Solana, part of him wanted to go with them. But there was Talwyn to think of, Clank and Petrov and the others. Not to mention the council, and of course the tracer... He hated goodbyes; even temporary ones.

"Mister President," Ratchet said, using the speech that Spiff had prepared for him, "it has been an honor to have you and your delegation visit. Ambassador Parallax is awaiting your arrival on the Apogee Station. She will coordinate with you and your staff on the formal treaties. Thank you for coming, and have a safe journey." Ratchet hoped that he got the speech right; he knew that Spiff was watching the entire proceedings from a hidden antechamber, along with Clank, Talwyn, and Petrov. He offered his hand to the large cazar.

President Phyronix shook it, saying in return, "It has been an honor to have been allowed into your great halls, and I hope that this will be the start of a lasting friendship between our two peoples." He let go of Ratchet's hand and said in a slightly less formal voice, "You've really come a long way from your driving days, eh?" The President winked at him. Sasha, standing to the President's right, rolled her eyes.

Ratchet sighed and gave up. "Indeed I have, sir," he said. "It just goes to show that opportunities are available to anyone in the Leonid galaxy." Ratchet meant it as a joke, and he could see both Sasha and Al choke slightly, trying not to laugh out loud. But the President merely seemed even more impressed. He nodded deeply and stepped through the portal, returning to his home dimension.

Captain Qwark stepped up, looked Ratchet over from head to foot, and said in a voice that conveyed his utter dismay, "You wouldn't wear the Q force uniform, but you actually put on _that_?"

Ratchet looked up at the hulking figure in green spandex. He closed his eyes for a moment, and repeated the word 'diplomacy' to himself, over and over. Clank had recommended he try this whenever Qwark got on his nerves during his visit. Fortunately, he had not had to use it up until now. Prime Minister Reg Solstice had mercifully intervened early on during the party's stay, requesting the 'honor' of having Qwark's 'exemplary heroic history' recorded for future generations of lombaxes. The President and Qwark both agreed. He had been taken to a BetaTex machine, hooked up and put into a dream state for the duration of the Solanans' stay on New Fastoon. Qwark had only been released this morning, with apologies that the recording process took so long. Ratchet was impressed with Reg's diplomatic skills when he commented that this was due to the depth of Qwark's achievements.

The lombax took a deep breath to calm himself and replied, "It wasn't my idea. There's a kinda tradition behind it." Ratchet shook the large human's hand. "If we're able t' dub that session to media you can use, I'll make sure you get a copy."

"Thanks, Ratchet!" Qwark replied. "I'm sure that my fan club would appreciate that! Do me a favor, though. Make a few extras... for my scrapbook."

Ratchet nodded and said, "Of course." Qwark grinned and stepped back through the portal.

Now that it was just Al and Sasha, Ratchet relaxed a bit. He threw formality away and moved forward to say goodbye, shaking Al's hand first. "It's been great seein' ya again. Didja have fun?"

Al smiled back, "It was great; everything I imagined it would be! And that really big lombax... Petrov, I think... offered to help me set up a shop here! I thought he was kidding until I saw him wearing one of my caps!"

Ratchet grinned. He knew Petrov had been thinking about that ever since he saw Ratchet's neural matrix. When Al arrived and brought Petrov his own cap, Ratchet could tell just how serious Petrov was about that sponsorship offer; the general could not stop playing with the matrix - and every other control crystal he could find within range, much to the dismay of those around him. But that just created even more demand; now Melody, Rich, Nicholas, Nichole and Spiff wanted one too... "It's Petrov. And he's serious. Think about it fer a while, though; it's not like ya can teleport between here 'n Solana."

Al's smile faded slightly. "True. I'll think about it." His smile grew brighter. "Maybe someday I'll retire here." Looking at Ratchet very seriously, he shook his hand vigorously with his own organic one once again. "Thanks again, Ratchet. I'll start working on those new caps. Keep in touch!" He turned toward the portal. As he was stepping through, he turned around and said with a smile, "But even I have to admit: Qwark was right about the jammies."

Ratchet cringed slightly. He didn't care personally, in fact it _was_ kinda funny, but he was sure that Spiff would not be amused. Ratchet was certain that the legal expert would not be happy that he didn't explain the significance (whatever it was) of the uniform, and that the unofficial leader of the council would tutor him on the topic, repeatedly, at great length.

Sasha noticed the look on Ratchet's face. "Let me guess, you're going to hear about that one later, aren't you?"

Ratchet sighed and nodded. "Yup."

Sasha looked around the empty room. Raising her voice, she called out clearly, "I know you can hear me. The uniform is the same style as your current military dress uniforms, but the white represents neutrality and your peaceful intentions. Ratchet's barefoot because this is your home planet." She dropped her voice to a whisper, adding "And because you probably couldn't find white boots big enough to fit his huge feet." Ratchet smiled at that and muttered "Tiny..." Sasha chuckled briefly before raising her voice again, "And Ratchet was alone for our arrival and is again for our departure symbolizing the individual nature of the lombax people. Ratchet told me during our stay here, but I did not have an opportunity to convey the significance to the rest of my delegation. I apologize for any unintentional slight."

Sasha looked into Ratchet's eyes. "Do you think that will get you off the hook?"

Ratchet grinned widely. "I hope so. Thanks! So that's why the costume; I was kinda wonderin' about the boots... How'd'ja know?"

Sasha smiled back, looking into Ratchet's face. "IRIS. Before we left, I had Al do a search so we'd know what to expect. This custom dated back to way before the Great War, so the worm didn't touch it."

Ratchet was a little concerned at the mention of the worm. "Will you or Al have any trouble with IRIS now that you've been here?"

"No," Sasha replied. "The IRISes are interconnected, but the worm deleted itself when Petrov asked about it. Al said that it's gone. But the data already deleted is also gone, so you're still listed as missing, and probably always will be."

Ratchet nodded. He was not surprised, but he was glad that she and Al would still be able to use the supercomputer network. Ratchet looked into her eyes. "It really was great t' see ya again."

Sasha's smile grew a bit sly. "It was great seeing you too! But remember: you owe me one. Make sure you stay in touch. I want to know what's going on, and how you are all doing. Tell Talwyn and Clank, too." Ratchet nodded.

Sasha moved forward and hugged Ratchet as tightly as she could. In a low voice, she said, "Promise me you'll visit."

Ratchet grinned slightly and held her tight. "I promise. As soon as I get my parole."

Sasha let him go and stepped back with an amused look on her face. "Parole..." she muttered. Her eyes slid down the lombax's form to the bulge around his right trouser cuff. "Did they paint that white too?" she asked, trying to keep a straight face.

Ratchet shook his head. With a grin on his face and his green eyes sparkling, the lombax slowly pulled up his trouser leg, revealing the tracer securely fastened around his right ankle. Spiff actually _had_ told him to paint it white, but Ratchet couldn't be bothered. Plus, he didn't want to have to deal with paint flecking off into his fur.

Sasha's reaction was exactly what Ratchet had hoped for. She tried to hold back the laughter, but couldn't. All cazares had a natural gift for leadership and public service, much as lombaxes had a similar talent for technology and adventure. The irony of Ratchet, the rather chaotic lombax that was a constant magnet for trouble and that had broken off their relationship for fear of ruining her career, being drafted onto the Lombax Central Council and forced to wear a tracking device always brought the cazar to tears of laughter. Sasha doubled over, laughing as hard as she could. Ratchet collected her and hugged her tightly to him as she continued to laugh for almost two full minutes.

When she could finally control herself, she looked into Ratchet's eyes. "Thank you. I needed that." She hugged him again, and then kissed him on the muzzle. Very quietly, she said, "I know I shouldn't, but... Congratulations. I'm sure you'll be very happy. You're all welcome, so visit when you can." Then she released him and rapidly stepped through the portal.

Ratchet looked through the rift and saw his friends on the other side. He waved farewell with his white gloved right hand. They were standing in the terrarium of the Apogee Station near the waterfall: Al and Sasha waving back, the President nodding to him once again, Quark trying to impress Jaz Parallax with his muscles, unsuccessfully. Then the portal rippled and winked out of existence; the lombax found himself staring at the main doors to the reception hall. Ratchet had a slightly puzzled look on his face. "Congratulations?" he repeated to himself.

* * * * *

Ratchet was sitting in the living unit of their apartment suite, still in his dress whites (although with the collar now comfortably unfastened), starting blankly at the switched off holovid display, thinking about the events of the day. Al and Sasha's entire visit seemed to go by like a blur, and this was the first really quiet time he had to sit down and think about everything that had happened. Things seemed to have gone very well. Sasha's preparation got him off the hook with Spiff, although Spiff's comment that he _did_ owe her made Ratchet realize just how sensitive the monitoring devices focused on the reception hall were. Spiff was impressed by Ratchet's recovery when the President let slip about the chauffeur thing. Clank was also extremely impressed about Ratchet's diplomatic behavior during their entire visit, and said that he had not known that Ratchet had it in him.

What really took him aback, though, was Petrov's comments and Talwyn's reaction. As they were heading for the teleporter, Petrov held him back for a moment. He glanced quickly at Talwyn, shook his head sadly at the younger lombax, and quietly muttered two words - "level four". It took Ratchet a moment to realize that he has referring to Jacek's forgive-me-blooms, and his rather amusing (but intensely practical) rating system for 'how bad'ja screw up'. Ratchet looked up to Petrov's storm blue eyes and asked, in all honesty, "What'd I do?" At those words, Petrov's eyes darkened further and his ears drooped. He closed his eyes and groaned; with a shake of his head said, "Make it a five..." before teleporting to his own apartment.

Talwyn's reaction was even more disturbing. She seemed to get along very well with Al and Sasha, much to Ratchet's and Clank's satisfaction. Both of them had already told Talwyn about their history in the Solana galaxy, of their friendship and times together, so Talwyn knew the background well beforehand. They had spent a lot of time exploring the city and comparing notes on lombax history and culture. Talwyn actually took the lead on this, explaining to them all how lombaxes went about their daily lives and how Ratchet was a prime example (for good or ill) of the species in general.

But something had changed this afternoon. After seeing the delegation safely back to Polaris, Talwyn had been extremely quiet and reserved, avoiding conversation with Ratchet or Clank as they moved around the suite. It wasn't as though she was being deliberately cold; she just seemed very distracted, lost in thought. Something was bothering her, but Ratchet couldn't figure out what it was. Right now, she was standing on the terrace, near one of the potted thorntrees, staring out over the evening lights of New Fastoon.

Ratchet shook his head slightly, rose from the leather chair and went to the kitchenette. Clank looked up from the technical manual he was reading, but saw the distracted look on his friend's face and thought it best not to comment. He returned to his book.

Ratchet really did not feel like preparing anything this evening, so he put in an order with Jacek for a gravity well, hold the capsaicin. The lombax was also tempted to order the forgive-me-blooms, but he still didn't know what was wrong and didn't want to make things worse. With a flash of energy, the gravity well appeared on the small table, still hot from Jacek's prep center. It was a little too hot to eat yet, at least not without causing significant burns, so Ratchet wandered out to the terrace and stood next to Talwyn. She still would not meet his eyes. "I ordered a gravity well fer us, just like you like it," Ratchet said, hoping to get some kind of reaction.

Talwyn stirred slightly. Reaching out to the thorntree next to her, she snapped off a large crimson thorn, sniffed at it * , shook her head and said in a distracted voice, "I'll be right there. Gimme a minute."

(* - Ratchet had finally given in to his curiosity about the ever present thorntrees. He had asked Reg about it a few months back. Apparently, in addition to the beauty of the crimson spikes growing out at odd angles, the fresh thorns, when snapped off or crushed, give out a faint resinous forest scent that was very pleasing to lombaxes. This scent proved to have both a relaxing and mildly stimulating effect on the species; but due to a quirk of organic chemistry, no other biological species yet encountered could detect it or notice its effects. All of these factors combined to make the vines a favorite of lombax kits for climbing, therapists for their scent, bloom sellers for their beauty and craftsmen for their highly prized ornamental wood. Thorntrees had been transplanted with varying success to every world where a lombax dwelled, including, apparently, Veldin.)

Ratchet nodded, muttering, "Okay." He went back into the suite and grabbed two flasks from the shelf. He went to the beverage dispenser, set it to mild and drew a cup of sludge for Talwyn. Without even thinking about it, he tasted it to make sure it was mild enough, and then dialed the dispenser up to ultra for himself. He drew another flask, significantly stronger than Talwyn's, sipped the vile brew and felt the fur on his muzzle tingling. Mmmm... He turned back to the table with a flask in either hand.

Ratchet looked up at the terrace and saw that Talwyn was no longer there. He caught a quick movement out of the corner of his eye and felt a thin strip of metal make contact with and wrap itself around the fur on his exposed upper arm. A neuralock! As it clicked into place around his arm, it began to give off a yellow-green glow. Ratchet could not move; all of his voluntary muscles from the neck down were immobilized by the device. He had experienced this once before when he was first drafted to the council, and knew it would only last ten minutes. But he also knew that it meant trouble. "Talwyn? Clank? What's going on?" His voice was a little nervous, but that should be expected given the situation.

Talwyn moved from his peripheral vision to stand in front of him. She held an open package of neuralock strips in her hand. "Relax, Ratchet," she said in a somewhat dangerous tone that had the opposite effect on the lombax. "We just need to talk. And I wanted to make sure I had your complete attention." She looked over to Clank, who had lowered his manual and was staring at them with a curious look on his face. "Clank, could you give us a bit of time alone?" she asked a little hesitantly. "Please?"

Clank looked into Talwyn's eyes, and then looked over to Ratchet. The lombax was shaking his head, mouthing the word 'no' very distinctly, and his eyes were a bit wild, pleading with the little robot not to leave him alone with her. Clank looked back into Talwyn's eyes and what he saw there made his own eyes brighten. He smiled. "Of course, Talwyn." He heard Ratchet groan slightly in despair. "In fact, I believe that I may turn in a little early this evening and recharge." He stood and walked through the kitchenette towards his private sleeping quarters.

Talwyn's voice was filled with gratitude as she said, "Thanks, Clank. I appreciate it."

Clank looked back over his metallic shoulder at the pair. Still smiling, he said, "You are welcome, Talwyn. Good night." He then went into his sleeping chamber and activated the security bolts, something that he very rarely did, but that made Talwyn feel even better and made Ratchet feel even more nervous.

Talwyn pulled up a chair from the dining set, placing it in front of Ratchet. Before sitting down, however, she pulled Ratchet's cap from his head and glanced down at the array of crystals on his left glove. "Just making sure you didn't open any comm links..." she muttered.

Ratchet groaned again. That would've been a really great idea... had he thought of it. Too late now.

Talwyn sat on the dining room chair, took a deep breath and looked up into Ratchet's eyes about to speak. Her shoulders slumped slightly and her tone changed, her words tumbling out somewhat impatiently. "Oh, would you relax already! I'm not gonna do anything. Here!" She held the broken end of the thorntree spike to his muzzle. "Take a deep breath and calm down. I just wanna talk."

Ratchet sniffed the thorntree spike. It was kinda hard not to: Talwyn had it shoved right into his muzzle. The lombax took a few deep breaths, looked into her eyes and nodded. "Sorry about that," he muttered.

Talwyn took another deep breath, and said, "I wanted to talk with you about this afternoon. Your little farewell scene with Sasha..." Talwyn's voice trailed off a little, and she started waving the crimson thorn around in her hand. "It really made me think."

Ratchet's mind raced back to the encounter. Spiff mentioned that he owed Sasha about the diplomatic uniform. That meant that the sensors planted in the reception hall were strong enough to pick up anything they said. Ratchet kept thinking, wondering what he could have said that set Talwyn off. But then he realized, maybe it wasn't something he _said_... He had hugged Sasha for quite a long time. And rather tightly, too. Talwyn knew they were good friends, but... _Oh no!_ A shiver ran down Ratchet's spine.

Ratchet's eyes met Talwyn's. His voice very gentle and very sincere, he said softly, "Sasha and I are just good friends. We dated a while back, but we never got serious about it. She had her career, and I didn't wanna get in the way o' that..."

A sudden fire filled Talwyn's eyes. "I! Know! That!" Talwyn said hotly, punctuating each word with a poke into Ratchet's chest with the thorn. Thorntree spikes are very sharp; not that Ratchet could do anything about it, immobile as he was. He merely winced slightly as each poke effortlessly pierced his shirt, his fur and his flesh. "That's _not_ what I'm _talking_ about," Talwyn's voice was loud and emotional. And she kept unconsciously prodding him with the thorn, even twisting slightly when she said the words 'not' and 'talking'. Ratchet cringed; it really hurt!

Talwyn's voice dropped a bit lower, but was still filled with emotion, her eyes locked on his. "It was the way she congratulated you... us..."

Now Ratchet was really confused. He didn't understand it then, and he didn't understand it now. But at least in the reception hall, he could move and was not in imminent danger of being skewered. Ratchet knew he was on dangerous ground, and that had to be very careful. "I know," he started tentatively. "I wasn't sure what she meant either..."

Wrong answer. Talwyn's voice grew hot again, "Wha'd'ya mean, You! Didn't! Know!" More pokes with each word. They were getting deeper too, as Talwyn's emotions added extra force to her jabs. "By _'you'_, she meant Both! Of! Us! Plural!" Ratchet's face was twisted with pain, but he struggled not say anything. "She! Thought! We! Were! _Bonded!_" Each word was joined with a jab from the spike, and the final 'bonded' was a deep, twisting stab.

Ratchet couldn't take it anymore. "OW! Dammit, Talwyn, either put the spike down or run me through with it already!"

A strange silence filled the room as what they said slowly filtered through the each other's consciousness.

Talwyn looked at the crimson spike in her hand, the sharp red tip glistening moistly with Ratchet's blood. The white shirt he wore was laced with over a dozen round holes, and there were lots of red stains where Ratchet's blood had soaked into it. In horror, Talwyn dropped the spike to the floor, reached over and ripped open Ratchet's shirt. There were traces of blood on his fur, and there was a slight blue shimmer around the last stab wound. The nanotech in Ratchet's system had already repaired the damage, but that last stab would probably leave a mark later.

Ratchet's mind went blank. Bonded? Sasha thought they were _bonded_? The cazar's words made a bit more sense now. But how did she ever get _that_ idea? No one had ever said that during their stay, as far as Ratchet knew. He thought back to what he knew about bonding. Reg had said something a while back, something that the couple was usually the last to know...

Ratchet looked into Talwyn's face. Her eyes were still staring at the healed stab wounds on his chest. "Talwyn, please. Look at me." He would have lifted her head with his hand, but he was still stuck in place. Talwyn lifted her eyes and their gazes locked.

"Talwyn," Ratchet began in a very soft voice, "I didn't say anything t' Sasha. I'm not sure where she got that idea from."

Talwyn shook her head and smiled. "I do. I know exactly where she got it. It's kinda obvious, isn't it? We _are_ bonded."

Ratchet was stunned. Part of him wanted to argue, deny it. But there was another part of him, deep down, that knew that Talwyn was right as soon as she said the words. The neuralock faded, and the thin metal strip crumbled to the floor. Ratchet found that he could finally move. He put the cold flasks of sludge on the table, pulled up a chair and sat down. Looking into Talwyn's eyes, he asked in a low voice, "Are you sure?"

Talwyn smiled. "It fits. It's been on my mind a lot lately. I even asked Melody about it before Sasha and Al came over. I asked her how she and Reg knew. She said it was the little things, like the way Reg would always taste her sludge to make sure it was strong enough..."

Ratchet chuckled. "That's kinda cute!" he began. "That sounds just like Reg..."

Now it was Talwyn's turn to chuckle. She shook her head. "Yeah. It _is_ kinda cute. But you do the same thing you know..."

Ratchet startled. "No, I don't!"

Talwyn's chuckle became a full laugh. "Of course you do. Look at the flasks, right now." Ratchet did, and was surprised to see that he had indeed taken a sip from both of them. "What do you think you're doing? Checking for poison, perhaps?"

Ratchet shook his head in disbelief. He didn't realize he was doing that. But he couldn't deny the evidence right in front of his eyes.

"You've been doing that ever since you offered me the first taste of the stuff, back on Fastoon," Talwyn continued, "when Reg told you he and Melody bonded. Ever since, you've been tasting mine first. Every time. And that's just one example."

Ratchet nodded. "Okay... Okay... I guess I do. I know. But bonding? That's huge. Are you sure?"

Talwyn's eyes took on a slightly sad look. In a very tentative voice, she asked, "Aren't you?"

The tone in her voice sent a chill through Ratchet. His eyes looked into her sad face. The lombax took a moment and tried to imagine what his life would be like without her in it. And failed. There was nothing, at least nothing without her there.

Ratchet stared deeply into her eyes. It took a moment, but the words finally came. "Yes. I am sure. I jus' don't know why I didn't see it before." The lombax stood, took Talwyn into his arms and kissed her.

She stood, knocking the chair she was sitting on behind her with a loud crash. Fortunately, the on duty deputies had quickly learned to ignore sudden noises and not to bother Ratchet unless he called first (or they wanted to participate in a fitness course). Talwyn returned his embrace, and then her hands began feeling for the open front of his shirt. Ratchet broke off and backed away.

"What's wrong?" Talwyn asked, a little confused. "The gloves?"

Ratchet smiled at her, with a slight leer to it. "No. That's not it. If we're gonna bond, we should do it right." He picked up his neural matrix from the table where Talwyn had placed it. Taking her gently by the hand, he led her to the living area and the holovid display.

Talwyn understood, but, "Right now?"

"Yeah," Ratchet replied. "Right now..." He glanced at the holovid unit and activated it with his neural matrix. He brought up the configuration menu, showing the current time. It was approaching midnight. "After what Reg went through, I don't wanna have any misunderstandings later..."

Talwyn laughed. "You _do_ realize that was a setup, right? Mel knew the entire time and planned the whole thing. Why else would she keep trimmers in their bedroom?"

Ratchet chuckled. He knew that Melody had a really twisted sense of humor. "Figures..." He brought up the hyperband link and began searching. "Here we go. Lombax Central Council... Bonding registry... Registrations... New..."

The following text scrolled across the holovid in formal lombax runes, and an announcer read along: "Congratulations! You have both decided to formalize your bonding by registering into the Lombax Central Council datastore. In order to proceed, you will both need to submit to a complete genetic mapping and/or circuit layout scan. If this is acceptable, select 'next' when ready, or you may select 'cancel' at any time."

Ratchet looked at the screen and used his neural matrix to select 'next'.

"Very good. Your location has been identified based on your hyperband connection point. When you select 'next', a disposable scanner will be teleported to your location. Select 'next' when ready, or you may select 'cancel' at any time."

Ratchet glared at the screen. There was a brief flash, and a remote scanner materialized in the room. It looked like a featureless hollow metal box, with a single opening on one side.

"The scanner has arrived at your location. The first partner should extend an appendage or body part into the scanner opening. Please remove any clothing or removable components from this appendage or body part before doing so. Select 'next' when ready, or you may select 'cancel' at any time."

Talwyn chuckled. "Appendage or body part... I wonder what they have in mind..."

Ratchet laughed, removed his right glove, and placed his bare hand into the box. He looked up at the screen and selected 'next'. There was a brief flash of light inside the box.

"Thank you. You may now vacate the scanner. Please wait..."

Ratchet put his glove back on.

"You have been identified as Ratchet Neutrino, also known as Ratchet of Veldin. The second partner should extend an appendage or body part into the scanner opening. Again, please remove any clothing or removable components from this appendage or body part before doing so. Select 'next' when ready, or you may select 'cancel' at any time."

Ratchet muttered, "They keep sayin' that..."

Talwyn laughed, "Maybe they're tryin' to warn you or something..." She looked at the box, removed her glove and stuck her hand inside. She looked up at the display and selected 'next' with her neural matrix. There was another flash in the box.

"Thank you. You may now vacate the scanner. Please wait..."

Talwyn put her glove back on and looked at the time display in the corner of the holovid. It was almost midnight. "If they keep this up, it'll be tomorrow," she said, smirking at Ratchet. "Then you'll be in trouble!"

"You have been identified as Talwyn Apogee. Warning: the two bonding partners are not genetically compatible. If this is okay, select 'next' to continue or you may select 'cancel' at any time."

Ratchet chuckled, "I wonder who programmed this thing..."

Talwyn tried to imitate the announcer's voice, very badly, "From the species that brought you the dimensionator and Stunderware..."

Ratchet grinned, "Aw, come on... That was a huge seller on Umbris..."

Talwyn laughed, "Better yet, I wonder who had to think of all the possible error codes!" She selected 'next'.

"You are about to enter your bonding into the official datastore of the Lombax Central Council. This is your final opportunity to cancel this action. Please remember that bonding is a lifelong commitment, and should be taken with the appropriate level of solemnity. Any fraudulent use of this datastore will result in prosecution and confinement. Both parties will need to select 'I Do' in order for this bonding to be registered. Ratchet Neutrino, do you acknowledge this bonding? Please select 'I Do' or you may select 'cancel' at any time."

Talwyn took out another neuralock and looked into Ratchet's eyes, "So, are you gonna run?"

Ratchet chuckled, looked at the holovid screen and selected 'I Do'. Talwyn grinned and returned the neuralocks to her manifestor.

"Acknowledged. Talwyn Apogee, do you acknowledge this bonding? Please select 'I Do' or you may select 'cancel' at any time."

Now it was Ratchet's turn. He looked at Talwyn and muttered in a voice trying to mimic the announcer, "You may select 'cancel' at any time..."

Talwyn laughed, looked at the holovid screen and selected 'I Do'.

"Acknowledged. Please wait..."

Ratchet looked at the time on the holovid unit. 11:58pm...

"Congratulations! Your registration has been successfully entered into the Lombax Central Council datastore. Official timestamp: Solax 2nd, 4602 Standard, 11:58pm. Please make a note of it. At this time, the scanner will be removed from your location. Please step away from the scanner and select 'next' to continue."

Talwyn chuckled, "No 'cancel'... I guess you can't back out now..." and selected 'next'. There was a teleporter flash. The scanner was gone, but it was replaced with an extremely small bottle. Talwyn picked it up. "Chilled fizzy spirits...?"

Ratchet chuckled. "That stuff goes right to my head..."

"The Lombax Central Council thanks you for your registration, and would like to be the first to offer a toast to the neobonds. 'May your lives together be filled with joy.' Please select 'next' to exit the bonding registry."

Both Talwyn and Ratchet selected 'next' at the same time, and the program exited. Ratchet logged out and shut down the holovid display.

"11:58pm...," Ratchet muttered. "Same day. This way there's no confusion." He turned.

Talwyn had already brought the bottle to the kitchenette, righted the fallen chair and was standing near the table with the chilled fizzy spirits in her left hand, waiting for Ratchet to join her. He went over to the table and looked at their gravity well, now a bit cold. The lombax reached for it, but Talwyn grabbed his hand and pulled him away from the table, toward the sleeping chambers.

"But what about dinner?" Ratchet muttered. Talwyn yanked on his arm, turned and gave him a pained look. She shook her head. Ratchet's grin turned into a bit of a leer and the two of them hurried past Clank's room to the right, Zephyr and Cronk's room to the left. "G'night Clank", they said at the same moment.

They went into Talwyn's room to the left. Ratchet activated the security bolts and created a sensory distortion field with his neural matrix for a little added privacy. This was an added precaution he always did when he and Talwyn were together; he knew that Clank's audio sensors were extremely sensitive. Ratchet then removed his cap and gloves, placing them on the desk. He turned to Talwyn.

She had already removed her cap, gloves and boots, and was now struggling with the fizzy spirit seal. It yielded with a popping sound. Talwyn took a sip from the tiny bottle and handed it to Ratchet. He sipped it as well, draining the remaining liquid. Ratchet burped and tossed the empty bottle towards the disposal, but missed; the bottle rebounded off the rim and rolled into the corner unheeded. He looked over to Talwyn and said, "Where were we?"

Talwyn threw her arms around him and kissed him. Ratchet wrapped his arms around her. Bonded, he thought to himself. It really doesn't feel all that different. In fact, it feels kinda nice.

Ratchet's bare hands wandered down Talwyn's back until they came to the reinforced tail opening in her jeans. He gently touched her tail, and then carefully wiggled his fingers underneath the tight fabric until he could rub her back at the point where her tail emerged from her spine. This spot was very sensitive on her and Talwyn drew in a quick, shuddering breath. Her hands shifted, found their way underneath the lombax's open shirt and moved to the small of his back; he could feel their warmth through his fur. Very slowly, Talwyn slid her hands up Ratchet's back along his spine, burrowing underneath his fur against the grain. Ratchet let out a low, moaning purr. His back went rigid and he could feel static electricity building in his fur. His muzzle slipped from Talwyn's lips, tracing along her neck, tasting her exotic smooth skin. Ratchet drew a deep breath filled with Talwyn's scent, and then, opening his jaws, Ratchet very softly nipped her where her neck joined the shoulder...

* * * * *

Clank, meanwhile, had been listening from his sleeping chamber. His hearing was acute enough to follow the events of the entire evening. Clank knew, as did their entire circle of friends, that Ratchet and Talwyn were bonded, and that it was just a matter of time until they realized it themselves. They had never said anything to Ratchet or to Talwyn, out of respect. He had seen the look in Talwyn's eyes, and suspected that the events of this afternoon had triggered a final decision in her. The only time the little robot felt any concern this evening was when Ratchet had shouted in pain. He almost ventured out at that point, but the sudden shift of the conversation was enough to calm his concerns.

Clank had chuckled to himself as Ratchet and Talwyn wished him good night. Their synchronization was nearly perfect, off by a mere 0.003 seconds. Much better than could be expected from organic life forms.

But it was only when Ratchet engaged his sensory distortion field that Clank knew he could relax. They had done this often enough that Clank was reasonably certain what was happening within the field; they were not fooling anyone. Clank was not sure if they merely required the illusion of privacy or were concerned that they might disturb him. Perhaps it was a bit of both.

Whatever the reason, it was completely unnecessary from his perspective. He knew that they were both organic life forms, that they were mutually attracted to each other and that they were likely engaged in biological mating. While Clank had to admit that he was a little curious about this, he knew that most organics, for whatever reason, required a sense of privacy in order for their efforts to be successful. His relationship with Venus was quite open in comparison.

Clank chuckled to himself slightly, thinking about what Zephyr and Cronk's likely reaction would be. The warbots had been invited to teach at the Lombax Defense Ministry's Academy, training new cadets in basic strategic warfare. They were pleased with the opportunity, and now maintained their own residence on campus. But they still stayed in the apartment on occasion. The first time that Ratchet and Talwyn had mated with the warbots in the apartment, Zephyr and Cronk's reaction had been rather excessive. If it had not been for his intervention, the two warbots would have broken down the door and vaporized the lombax on the spot. Clank had been forced to remind them that 'their little Talwyn' was more than capable of making her own decisions on the matter and had actually instigated that specific encounter. The next morning, their responses to Ratchet's inquiries were rather strained until Talwyn herself told the warbots that she approved of her relationship with Ratchet, and that they should not interfere. After that, Zephyr and Cronk came to accept the situation, and they would be just as pleased with these latest developments as he was. That did not mean, however, that the warbots would make things easy on Ratchet; they enjoyed teasing the lombax about their relationship every chance they got.

Clank connected his power and hyperband feeds, setting up for a recharge. But there were some important things he needed to do before he could relax for a backup.

His first order of business was to sign onto the Lombax Central Council's supercomputer. Talwyn and Ratchet both had accounts here as well, but Clank had obtained a few additional privileges along the way. Signing on, he was quickly able to bypass the security interlocks and access the central datastore directly. From here, it was merely a matter of a single query to determine the status of their bonding. Yes. Everything was correct and the system had properly registered it. It was official.

Clank smiled and signed off the datastore carefully, making sure that the data was kept intact. He then went to the LCC's command processor and program queue. This level of access was typically off limits to any random user, but Clank was again able to bypass security. He verified that his carefully tailored program was still in place and that everything was working. Once that was done, Clank connected to the command processor itself and loaded his program into the queue.

"Acknowledged. Directive number two four six zero two loaded."

It amused Clank immensely that the numeric coincidence that seemed to follow Ratchet everywhere he went extended even here, though the lombax would never know it. Clank transmitted the following into the data stream: "Execute directive two four six zero two submit".

"Directive password required."

Clank paused for a clock cycle, and then transmitted: "The turtledoves are on the chessboard submit"

"Password acknowledged. Directive two four six zero two executing. Stand by."

After what seemed like an eternity, but was merely four or five system clock cycles, the reply came back.

"Directive two four six zero two completed. Return code, checkmate."

Clank smiled. He carefully cleared all traces of his not quite official access and personally verified that the return code was indeed accurate using standard channels. He then disconnected from the lombax hardware and opened a hyperD link. "Hi, mom!"

* * * * *

Ratchet and Talwyn were up before sunrise. Technically, neither of them had actually slept, but they did not really feel all that tired. Their first order of business was to clean up the debris from the previous evening, and its aftermath, from the apartment suite. Talwyn worked to tidy her bedroom, putting the remains of Ratchet's diplomatic shirt and the empty fizzy spirits bottle into the disposal for recycling. She then took a quick hydroshower and dressed.

Ratchet cleaned the living area first, making sure that everything was in its proper place. He then moved to the kitchenette, putting the sludge flasks into the sterilizer and organizing the chairs and table. The broken spike, coated with his dried blood, he threw into the disposal and cleaned the blood stains from the floor where it had fallen. The lombax then looked at the untouched gravity well, peeking into the box. Glancing back at the closed doors to the bathroom and the sleeping quarters, he hastily grabbed a piece and ate it as quickly as he could, hoping to avoid discovery. It wasn't nearly as good cold, but he was kinda hungry. He was about to grab a second when he heard the door to the bathroom open. With a sad final glance at the rest of the previous evening's dinner, he put it into the disposal for recycling.

Talwyn walked into the kitchenette, gestured back towards the hydroshower and said, "Bathroom's free..." Ratchet nodded and proceeded down the hall for a quick hydroshower himself. They were on a tight schedule...

Ratchet and Talwyn had spent part of the previous evening talking. They discussed what bonding meant, what was different and what was the same as before. Very little had changed, but one thing they decided to do was to tell their friends as quickly as possible. Because the datastore was a public record, the information about their bonding would not remain quiet very long, especially given Ratchet's notoriety and his position on the Council. News travelled fast, and they wanted to tell their closest friends themselves rather than have them find out second hand from an evening newsreel or holovid report. As Ratchet climbed into the hydroshower stall and turned on the hot water jets, he repeated the list they had made in his mind...

Clank would be first, of course. Then Zephyr and Cronk. This made Ratchet a little nervous; he knew that they had finally come to accept his relationship with Talwyn, but that first day was a little rough. They still teased the lombax about it whenever they could.

On New Fastoon, there was Petrov, of course. Reg and Melody. Talwyn especially wanted to talk with Melody, possibly to compare notes. Other than that, there was Rich and Nichole - now _there_ was a bonding waiting to happen. As Petrov kept saying, it was merely a matter of time. Spiff should know, too. He and Ratchet were not all that close yet, but he was family, in an odd sort of way.

Ratchet switched from hydro to airblast, using the jets to dry and fluff his fur as his mind continued to wander.

There were a few people that Ratchet still wanted to tell, but that he would have to settle for a comm link for. Winston Tesseract was off planet, supervising the first scale test of Ratchet's fuel additive. Nicholas Neutrino was stationed off planet for the LDM. Ratchet had yet to meet Petrov's son in person, but they had spoken a number of times on the comm link. He seemed like a really cool lombax, a bit shorter and certainly less athletic than Petrov, but with his father's sense of humor and his changeable eyes, only in shades of green. Ratchet chuckled. Physically, he and his twin sister Nichole were very similar, but Ratchet could not think of two more opposite personalities: Nicholas was very easy going and mellow, performing his duties as an engineer for the LDM with a casual calm that spread to all those around him, while Nichole was a constant bundle of energy, running the med center of Region 9 on New Fastoon with a sense of urgency and drive that made those around her jump.

And then there was Al and Sasha. Ratchet _really_ wanted to tell them in person, especially Sasha since it was her comment that had set the evening into motion. But as long as he was wearing the tracer there was no way that he could do that. And the LDM had put in all kinds of protection against opening random portals, especially in or near safe zones. Maybe when he and Talwyn spoke with Rich they might be able to talk him into an escorted visit; or at least use the door glove or a dimensionator to open a portal and let Talwyn go through, while he stood on the New Fastoon side watching. Worst case, there was always the hyperD.

Ratchet climbed out of the stall and quickly dressed in a casual shirt, jeans and boots. He had already been in there longer than he planned, and sunrise was approaching. Clank normally would reactivate at that time, and he and Talwyn wanted to tell him first thing.

Ratchet exited the bathroom with ten minutes to spare. Talwyn was not in the suite, but was standing outside on the terrace, near one of the thorntrees, looking west towards the brightening dawn. Ratchet smiled, retrieved the flasks from the sterilizer, set the dispenser to mild and drew a cup for Talwyn. He already had it to his lips before he realized what he was doing. The lombax smiled and deliberately took the sip. Ugh! That was waaaay too weak; he was better off in automatic mode - at least that way it wouldn't register. He quickly dialed up to ultra and got himself a flask, sipping it as he walked out onto the terrace to join Talwyn. He handed her the flask, whispered, "It's not poisoned, I checked," smiled at her chuckle and turned with her to face the dawn.

They stood together, watching the sun break the horizon to the west, the reddish light of the early morning reflecting off the metal and stonework of the city. The reflections from the raritanium decorated surfaces cast a rosy glow around the buildings, and aside from a small amount of air traffic below them and a scree that had somehow found its way into their potted thorntrees, the air had a certain hushed anticipation to it. It was a new day, like any other sunrise - filled with promise, but this one was special; it was their first one together. Officially, that is...

Ratchet thought he heard the security bolts unfastening from Clank's door. He turned. Talwyn took a deep breath, and then turned as well, facing the archway leading into the apartment. Ratchet saw Clank emerge into the kitchenette and called out to him, with a trace of hesitation in his voice. "Clank, we're out here. Could ya join us fer a minute?" Clank turned towards them and started to walk to the terrace. Ratchet would have sworn that he saw the robot grinning as he turned.

"Good morning, Ratchet," Clank said. "Good morning, Talwyn. You are both awake unusually early. Did you have a good evening?" Clank greeted them in almost the exact same way each morning. He was trying to act as 'normally' as possible, not breaking the routine. He could tell that both Ratchet and Talwyn were unusually nervous. Clank knew what was coming, but they apparently did not realize that; it was better that way - he did not want to spoil their surprise.

"Yes, Clank," Talwyn started. "Thank you. And you?"

Clank nodded, "It was very... enjoyable, thank you for asking."

Ratchet became very serious and knelt down in front of Clank, so that they were at eye level. "Clank," he began, "there's somethin' Talwyn and I hafta tell ya. She and I've been together fer over a year now. Over that time, somethin' happened; we didn't expect it, but... we... kinda fell in love. It's been gettin' more and more clear t' us, 'n last night, we came to a decision. We want you t' be the first t' know. Last night... Talwyn 'n I bonded."

Clank's eyes brightened and a smile filled his face. "Congratulations, Ratchet, Talwyn!" he said with all sincerity. "I am extremely happy for both of you. And I am deeply honored that you chose to tell me first of anyone. Although..." Clank chuckled slightly, "I must admit that I am not completely surprised by this information."

Talwyn sighed and muttered, "It was that obvious, huh?"

Clank looked away for a moment. "Oh... Uh... Yes."

Ratchet chuckled, but then grew very serious. "Clank, we've been together a long time. We've been through a lot. I hope you don't think this changes anything between us. We're still friends, right?"

Clank looked at Ratchet very carefully, studying the way the lombax's golden fur blew around in the light breeze and noting the worry in his eyes. He had not considered that Ratchet would ask this, or that the lombax would be so deeply concerned, but he instinctively (and Clank would have to examine this unusual insight at a more appropriate time) understood how he needed to respond. "Ratchet," Clank began, "I have been your companion since the day I was manufactured. Things were not always ideal between us, but our friendship has grown significantly over time. I must admit, however, that things cannot be the same as they had been before."

Ratchet's ears and tail plummeted, and the lombax looked to the ground at Clank's feet unable to meet his friend's eyes. Clank paused for a moment, and then continued, "It is not possible for them to be the same. But they can be even better."

Ratchet suddenly looked up into Clank's eyes, his own rimmed with tears.

Clank tilted his head slightly and explained, "I am extremely pleased to see you so happy. And this extends to Talwyn as well. I do not believe that this will in any way diminish our friendship. If anything, it is likely that this will enhance it. I wish you both great joy, happiness and my lasting friendship."

Clank held out his fist to Ratchet. The lombax's ears perked up and his tail lifted from the terrace stonework. His eyes still moist, Ratchet silently bumped his fist into Clank's and then, impulsively, the lombax reached out to pick up and hug the robot. It did not last long; Ratchet became very self conscious and quickly placed Clank back on his feet. Ratchet wiped his eyes with his gloved hand and was grateful that Clank did not chuckle at his actions.

Instead, Clank turned to Talwyn. He smiled, and without another word, offered his fist to her as well. Talwyn smiled, knelt down, her own eyes soft in the glow of the morning sun, and bumped her fist into Clank's offered one. She whispered, "Thanks, Clank."

Ratchet and Talwyn stood. Clank looked at the couple and said, "Since you said that I am the first person you have told, am I correct in assuming that you plan to tell others as well?"

Ratchet nodded, "Yeah." His voice was still a little emotional, but grew stronger. "We've got a whole list o' people t' see today, before they start readin' about it in the news feeds."

"Have you decided on your next destination?" Clank asked, leading the trio back into the suite, towards the kitchenette and the exterior door.

Talwyn nodded. "I want to see Cronk and Zephyr. I've known them all my life, and I want to be the one to tell them."

Clank smiled, "I believe that is a wise choice. I do, however, recommend that you proceed immediately. They are the most likely to discover any data pertaining to your status on the hyperband."

Talwyn smiled, "We intend to."

Clank nodded. "I presume that you will also be telling Rich Quantum?"

Ratchet nodded, "He's on our list."

Clank nodded again. "When you see him, please convey my regards, and let him know that I would like to speak with him about scheduling some time in Solana."

Ratchet grinned. Venus... "We will."

Talwyn began, "If it's okay with you, Ratchet and I'll start out." Ratchet grabbed the tracer from the small stand by the entrance and opened the door. "We'll be back later tonight."

Ratchet added, "Thanks again. ... For everything." His voice was a little rough and his eyes were still a bit moist as he said it.

Clank merely smiled and waved. Ratchet stepped through the door and put his foot on a stepstool, allowing the on duty deputy to attach the tracer to his ankle as Talwyn cycled the door closed. Before it secured, however, Clank called out after them, "Have fun!" and started chuckling uncontrollably.

Ratchet's puzzled gaze met Talwyn's equally confused look. "Have fun?" the lombax muttered. Talwyn merely shrugged. The deputy tested the tracer, generating a mild tone and a green indicator. "Thanks," Ratchet muttered, distracted. His expression changed and he led the way to the teleporter pad. As he and Talwyn climbed onto it, Ratchet asked another question that had been bothering him. "Talwyn, where'd ya get the neuralocks?"

Talwyn smiled. "Mel. She thought they might get your attention..."

The teleporter flashed, and they were gone.

* * * * *

The Academy was the primary training facility for the Lombax Defense Ministry. It was second only to The Institute (maintained by the Center for Advanced Lombax Research) in scholastic excellence, but unlike its sister school, The Academy boasted a curriculum that included military and commando training. Both schools were chartered by the Lombax Central Council, and were the crowning pride of the lombax people. The two facilities drew young lombaxes from the entire Leonid galaxy, to study and train in their chosen fields. Those students looking to go into pure research or engineering, with a goal towards working in the CALR, typically chose The Institute, while those looking for action or adventure (or who wanted to become cadets in the LDM) usually gravitated toward The Academy. As with all things lombax, there were no set rules: it just tended to work out this way.

Ratchet and Talwyn materialized in the Region 5 campus. Both schools had satellite locations throughout all of the regions of New Fastoon and on select planets in Leonid. For The Academy, many of these campuses had specific training functions; some were selected for their environment where students trained in conditions replicating extremes of temperature, weather, ecosystem or indigenous wildlife *. Other campuses, like this one in Region 5, were dedicated to classroom based training, history and general strategy.

(* - Petrov had set up many of his fitness courses in the most infamous spots of The Academy. In fact, his dreaded 'survival course' was rigged in a distant corner of The Academy's branch in Region 2, where finding food in the scorching desert terrain was secondary only to not becoming the food of the leviathans prowling the area.)

After their arrival in the Region 5 campus, Ratchet and Talwyn set out to look for signs of Zephyr and Cronk. They knew that the bots were teaching a number of classes here, but neither of them knew the area well enough to know where to begin looking. Fortunately, they were not alone. There were a number of students around them, walking the pedways between the various buildings. Some were dressed in casual clothes, others wore the uniforms of cadets undergoing their official certification before entering into the LDM.

As Ratchet looked around, what struck him most was how young the lombaxes around him looked. Ratchet was roughly twenty-five, give or take a bit (no one knew exactly), with a life expectancy of nearly ninety. But the students around him ranged between thirteen and eighteen years of age. It made Ratchet feel a little... not quite _old_... but not young, either! At thirteen, he was still trying to get off Veldin...

He saw a face in the crowd that he recognized - a cadet that he had met while testing out one of Petrov's fitness courses. The familiar face made him feel better for two reasons; first, it was someone he knew that would probably know where to find the warbots and second, it was someone he had been able to beat in the fitness course! They really weren't all that hard, at least not to him. Ratchet had come out of that particular course with the best overall score, best time _and_ best marksmanship. It just made the lombax feel a little better, knowing that he could still do as well as if not better than these kits!

"Randall!" Ratchet shouted over the crowd. The cadet looked around, saw Ratchet and began to make his way toward him. Ratchet and Talwyn moved to close the distance as well, meeting alongside one of the quieter pedways.

"Minister. It is an honor to see you here." Cadet Randall Bitstream was studying to become an encryption engineer in the LDM. During that fitness course, he and Ratchet had struck up a few conversations. Randall was exceptionally curious about some of the devices that Ratchet used in his adventures: the trespasser, the infiltrator, the hacker and the decrypter most of all. Ratchet had lent the gadgets to the cadet to play with for a few months. Looking into his eyes, though, Ratchet could tell that Randall was in a hurry, and it was a very bad idea to show up late for class at The Academy!

"No it isn't," Ratchet joked casually. "Look, I know yer in a hurry, but d'ya know where I can find Zephyr and Cronk? They're teaching a few classes on campus."

"Yes, Minister," Randall replied. "They should be in the Weapons History building; go up this path, take the first right, then the second left. They're probably in the main auditorium."

"Thanks, Randall," Ratchet replied. "Good luck with yer studies. If there's anything I can do, contact me."

"Thank you, Minister," Randall said, his eyes already darting down the path. "Enjoy your day." The cadet then turned and dashed at a full run down the pedway, hoping to make up for lost time getting to his destination.

Talwyn looked after the fleeing lombax. "I hope we didn't make him late for anything."

Ratchet chuckled, "Prob'bly not. He's pretty quick." Ratchet looked around, and sighed.

"What?" Talwyn asked.

"I'll never get used t' this," Ratchet said with a shake of his head. "Bein' called 'Minister' all the time. And they seem so young..."

Talwyn moved to his side and linked her arm in his. "So? You can probably whip their tails. And just think how Zephyr and Cronk must feel!"

Ratchet grinned, "Yeah. Thanks."

The followed Randall's directions and entered the Weapons History building. The auditorium was on the ground floor, and they followed the sound of Zephyr's exuberant storytelling to the lecture hall.

"There we were, plummeting down in a HALO jump over Rykan V. It was me, Cronk, that rookie and his little robot buddy. Tachyon's forces held the spaceport, and it was up t' us t' blast our way in, through wave after wave of elite guards..."

Talwyn and Ratchet stood in the doorway to the lecture hall, peering in. The hall was just over half full, and while most of the lombaxes were awake, there were quite a few drooping ears, especially in the back rows. A low snore emitted from one dimly lit corner of the room. Ratchet grinned and listened in.

"After we showed 'em they were outmatched, they pulled a nasty trick 'n started firin' from a dozen ion cannons! Each one protected with thick armor plating 'n force fields on top o' that! Ion blasts rained down on all sides. They were firin' indiscriminately on the battlefield, takin' out their own troops tryin' t' git t' us..."

"Actually, there were only four cannons," Ratchet said, with a smile on his face. All of the lombaxes in the room (except for the sleeping one in the corner) turned to the doorway. A low murmur of "Minister Ratchet" filled the seats. Someone prodded the sleeper, who woke with a snort and said 'combustor' in a loud voice that echoed in the room. There was a chuckle from the assembled class.

Cronk quickly brought things back to order. "Yeah, rookie. But it felt like a dozen, di'n't it?"

Ratchet nodded, admitting, "Yeah, it did."

Zephyr looked at the class and said, "Yer assignment fer tonight's t' identify three things in yer dorm room that can be used as weapons in an emergency, 'n how you'd use 'em. The more creative ya git, the higher yer score! Now scram!"

Ratchet and Talwyn stood aside and let the class filter out of the auditorium. Most were curious about Ratchet's presence, but a few (most notably the sleeper) tried to melt into the crown. When the room was empty, they made their way down to the stage at the bottom of the stairs.

Ratchet looked up at the empty seats. "Wow! I never realized; you can see everyone from here!" His face took a slightly guilty look as he thought back on some of the classes he had fallen asleep through on Veldin.

Cronk nodded. "The wors' part's when one o' those whippersnappers opens up fizzy spirits. Sounds like a shot! Startled me so, I nearly blew a hole in the bottle first time it happened. They didn't do that ag'in fer a while."

Zephyr's face grew curious. "What brings you young'uns here? Trouble? Jus' give us a few ticks, 'n we'll be set t' go."

Talwyn smiled. "No, Zephyr. Not trouble."

"Then wha's goin' on?" Cronk continued. "Not that we don' mind seein' ya..."

Talwyn looked at the bots tenderly. "Guys, I have something important to tell you..."

Zephyr and Cronk looked at each other and turn their attention to Talwyn.

"You've been there for me my whole life. I wanted to tell you right away. Ratchet and I bonded."

Zephyr and Cronk were silent. A long few seconds passed. At first, there was no reaction from either of the bots. Then they looked at each other for a moment. Zephyr turned toward Ratchet, moving very close, nose to sensor, and glared threateningly into the lombax's eyes. "Is this true, lombax?"

Ratchet was uncomfortable with his proximity, but he did not take a step back, and did not back down in any way. "Yes, it's true. We registered last night."

Cronk looked at Talwyn. He said, "Are you really sure about this? He looks kinda... scruffy..."

Ratchet turned from Zephyr and gave Cronk a sarcastic look. The warbot should talk; it looked like he hadn't seen a paintbrush since they moved to New Fastoon!

Talwyn nodded, saying "Yes, I am."

Zephyr backed away from Ratchet. He and Cronk looked at each other for a moment, and then said simultaneously, "Our little Talwyn's all grown up! Yer father would be soooo proud!" Cronk carefully hugged Talwyn and Zephyr shook Ratchet's hand (applying a little extra force just to try and get a reaction out of the lombax, unsuccessfully). Zephyr then hugged Talwyn too, and Ratchet shook Cronk's hand.

Zephyr let go of Talwyn and looked at Ratchet. "You'd better take good care of her, rookie!" he said.

Ratchet grinned, "I'll try."

Cronk looked at him, "You'd better do better than that!" The warbot grinned. "One word from Miss Talwyn, 'n we'll turn yer pelt inta a nice rug."

Zephyr smiled at this suggestion, "Or maybe a cape!"

Cronk turned to Talwyn. "Miss Talwyn, don't ya think y'd prefer a nice lombax-fur cape fer yer birthday?"

Talwyn smiled, leaned over to Ratchet's side and briefly nuzzled her face into the fur of his exposed upper arm. "I've already got one. Thanks." Ratchet smiled and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. Even with the warbots teasing him like this (he was pretty sure they were teasing, anyway...), it was soooo worth it.

Zephyr tilted his head a little to the side and let out an "Awww..."

Cronk looked at the neobonds and asked, "Who knows so far?"

Talwyn answered, "You're the first people we visited. Clank knows too, but he was in the apartment this morning."

Cronk looked at Zephyr and nodded. Zephyr smiled slightly. "I bet ya wanna see Petrov, right?" Ratchet nodded.

Zephyr (Z): "He's at the target range, blowin' off some steam. Mind if we tag along? I wanna show this bucket o' bolts," indicating Cronk, "that I can still outgun him any day o' the millennium."  
Cronk (C): "Heh. In yer dreams. You couldn't hit a target if I held it up right in front o' yer sensors."  
Z: "At least I can still shoot. Yer trigger digit's all rusted solid!"  
Talwyn (T): "Guys..."  
C: "I may have a little rust, but at least my CPU hasn't been recalled fer faulty calculations!"  
Z: "My CPUs fine! Unlike yer data bus. When's the last time ya had yer boards reseated?"  
T: "Guys...!"  
C: "The only reason my boards are jammed in their socket's 'cause you can't tell a port from a plug!"  
Z: "At least I can still get my buffers flushed!"  
T: "Guys! Knock it off already, you two!"

Zephyr and Cronk looked at each other, glanced at Ratchet (Zephyr winked his optic sensor), turned to her and said in unison, "Yes _Mizzzz._ Talwyn..."

Talwyn let out an exasperated grunt and led the way out of the auditorium. They found a nearby teleporter pad and left the campus.

* * * * *

The foursome materialized at the entrance to the Caliber Holorange and Recreational Facility, located in Region 7. While many smaller weapons training and target ranges were scattered around New Fastoon, Ratchet liked this one the best due to its programmable holographic target capability and because it could handle heavy armaments, including his judicator and alpha cannon. He had yet to find any facility (other than extremely large open landscapes) where he could practice with his heavily upgraded RYNO, but the lombax knew that it was just a matter of time. Ratchet was already in negotiations with the owner to have a few of the holoranges upgraded with sufficient plating to withstand the more amusing bits of his arsenal, and one of his sponsored projects in the CALR was to develop shielding that could handle the strain.

Another advantage of Caliber's facility was that he also had a variety of gaming weapons and recreational combat landscapes available. Ratchet and his friends had been here on a number of occasions, dividing into teams (usually Ratchet, Clank, Petrov and Reg against Talwyn, Zephyr, Cronk and Melody) and spending a few fun afternoons shooting at each other with relatively harmless marker projectiles. It was good fun, but they did sting a little, and the polychromatic dye was hard to get out of your fur.

Arriving at the entrance to the range, they quickly went in and bypassed all of the booths for the various holoranges, walking up to the central service counter in the middle of the gallery. Colonel Ember Caliber, the owner, was busy working with a youngster, showing him how to use the dye pistol he had been provided. With a smile on his muzzle, the kit nodded and went down a corridor behind the booth to rejoin his party in their private range.

Colonel Caliber himself was an older lombax with mostly white, silver and grey fur. The monochromatic stripe patterns typical on a lombax his age fought with a strange series of irregular spots and splotches all over the Colonel's visible fur. Closer examination would reveal that these slight discolorations were the result of recent marker round dye stains that had not washed out completely yet.

The retired colonel had never been drafted for duty on the Lombax Central Council, a fact that at first surprised Ratchet. He seemed to have an exceptionally fluent grasp of every type of weapon and warfare that Ratchet could think of, and the colonel was highly skilled, even when compared with Ratchet's personal experience. But Petrov later explained that it was precisely for this reason he had not been drafted - the colonel always thought in these terms, and was therefore extremely unhelpful in other areas. Ratchet could understand that; far too much of his time on the council was spent talking about irrational expenditures and imaginary income, budgeting doubletalk and diplomatic relations, none of which were the colonel's strong points.

The colonel's muzzle, head and especially his ears showed a number of very obvious parallel scars. When Ratchet first met the lombax, the veteran told him that they were the result of a rather violent disagreement with some local plant life over who was lunch. Nanotech works wonders, but there was something unusual in the chemical makeup of the carnivorous plant's toxin that blocked the nanotech in his system from repairing the wounds. He had to spend nearly three weeks in the medcenter for something that should have taken only minutes, and the natural healing of the contaminated wounds had left visible scarring. Even now he still suffered from unusual complications. The CALR was currently researching these plants for possible medical and military uses.

Ratchet walked up to the desk in the center of the gallery and waited, glancing at the sign in huge letters on the countertop: 'Be Quiet, Or I'll Make You Regret It. Signed, the management." One of the unfortunate complications of the plant attack was that the colonel's ears had become hypersensitive; he could not tolerate loud noise in any form, and had to retire from the LDM because of it. Another potential medical benefit of the plant, the CALR kept saying. The colonel just found it intensely annoying. Caliber constantly wore thick earplugs and had spent a small fortune soundproofing all of the holoranges to cut down on the noise. That was another reason Ratchet kept coming back; for all of the mayhem, combustor fire and missile explosions occurring around him at this very instant, the young lombax could not hear a single sound except for their own breathing.

The colonel caught Ratchet in the corner of his eyes and walked over to him. He looked at Ratchet, Talwyn and the bots curiously, tilted his head to the side with a questioning look on his face. Very quietly, the old lombax whispered "Dye room?"

Ratchet shook his head and whispered, "Petrov?" The colonel nodded, looked at his display tablet, took a photon beam generator from under his counter and pointed it at a room at the very back of the complex, near the teleporter. Ratchet nodded, then pointed to Zephyr and Cronk in turn. He whispered, "Whatever they want, my account." He and Talwyn then circled around the counter and walked to the indicated holorange.

The colonel's eyes widened slightly and his muzzle split into a grin. The warbots were some of his best customers, and having them in on a school day was a rare (and lucrative) event. He nodded, turned to Zephyr and whispered, "The usual?"

Zephyr and Cronk looked at each other and Zephyr nodded. Cronk then said, in as quiet a voice as he could manage, "Give us a minute. We wanna see this..."

Ratchet and Talwyn stood outside the holorange that Petrov was using. A red indicator above the door showed that he was busy blasting whatever targets he had programmed in. Ratchet looked at the control panel next to the door. The general had selected Drophyd targets with Emperor Tachyon as the bosses; not a surprise, this was his typical choice. Ratchet watched the ammunition and target counts dropping as Petrov rapidly dispatched his holographic attackers.

Talwyn suddenly grinned, tapped Ratchet on the shoulder and entered in additional bolts from her account, increasing the number of credits (and targets) in Petrov's simulation. Ratchet eyes twinkled with mischief and he grinned. He looked into Talwyn's eyes, punched in a ministry override code and programmed in a superboss, pulling from his personal target library to give it the features of a twenty cubit tall Captain Qwark! Talwyn choked slightly on a suppressed chuckle and nodded. Then they two of them stood back and watched the progress on the display panel.

The target and ammunition counts continued to decrease, but now there were more targets than ammunition. Eventually, the ammunition count reached zero. There was a pause for a few heartbeats, and then the display indicated that the superboss had been deployed. Another few heartbeats later the red light above the door went out, the door swung open and Petrov emerged, cursing at the top of his lungs, "Who the hell's been screwing with my program?"

His words echoed in the silence of the gallery, and Colonel Caliber covered his ears, cringing. He then stood, pointed the harmless photon beam at Petrov and growled slightly, pointing to the sign on the counter.

The general waved an apology in the direction of the desk, looking around. When he saw Ratchet and Talwyn, his angry expression changed; his eyes widened and his ears perked. He walked over, shook Ratchet's hand and hugged Talwyn lightly, whispering their names in turn. "I shoulda known... What brings ya here?" Petrov glanced back at the desk and noticed the warbots for the first time. His ears perked even further, and his eyes widened.

Ratchet looked up into the large lombax's eyes. The sparkle was growing more noticeable, and they were turning color to the clear blue of a New Fastoon afternoon. A smile grew on Petrov's muzzle. Ratchet drew Talwyn close to his side and whispered, "We wanted to tell you in person. Talwyn and I bonded."

"I KNEW IT!" Petrov roared, his words once again echoing. Colonel Caliber growled even more menacingly, shone the photo beam on them again, pointed at the sign and pulled a mag-net launcher from beneath the counter. Petrov grabbed Talwyn into a tight bear hug, and then hugged Ratchet as well. Struggling to keep his voice down, Petrov whispered, "Congratulations! When?"

Ratchet smiled seeing how happy Petrov was. "Last night. We talked..."

Talwyn interrupted Ratchet, saying, "I had to neuralock him to get him to pay attention..."

Petrov burst out in a loud laugh. There was no warning this time; the colonel fired a mag-net at Petrov. He was easily able to dodge out of the way.

Petrov looked back at the desk and whispered, "Aw, come on... They just bonded..." Colonel Caliber nodded and smiled slightly. He shone the photon beam at Ratchet, then at Talwyn and made a thumbs-up gesture, shining the photons on his hand so they could see it at the other end of the hall. He then shone the photon beam at Petrov, shook his head and pointed aggressively at the sign once more.

Petrov muttered, "Killjoy...," and made an obscene gesture at the colonel. The colonel's eyes narrowed; he put the mag-net back under his counter and drew a weapon out of his personal manifestor. It looked like a heavily upgraded and customized nitro reaper, but Ratchet could see a few exotic additions. After a second or two he realized that they were silencers and audio shielding.

Ratchet looked back to Talwyn and muttered, forcing his voice as low as he could, "I woulda listened... Really!"

Talwyn looked into Ratchet's eyes, "It worked, though. It got your attention."

Ratchet admitted with a grin, "Scared me witless too... But, yeah, it worked."

Petrov looked into their eyes in turn. "Are ya happy?" he asked in a voice filled with emotion. His eyes were an extremely light blue, almost white. Ratchet knew from experience that he was probably thinking about his own wife Cynthia, killed during the Cragmite War.

Ratchet and Talwyn whispered, "Yes," simultaneously. Ratchet added, "Very..."

Petrov smiled. "I know how ya feel. I'm so happy fer ya." He glanced towards the desk, noticed the nitro reaper and muttered, "Uh, maybe we should go... Who else ya gotta see?"

Talwyn ticked them off, "Melody and Reg, Nichole and Rich..."

Ratchet added, "And Spiff..."

Petrov grinned. "So Clank knows already?"

Ratchet and Talwyn both nodded.

Petrov's grin grew wider and his eyes started twinkling even more. There was a hint of mischief in them. "What about them?" he said, nodding toward the warbots, who were watching them from near the desk. "How'd they take it?" Cronk and Zephyr's recent teasing of Ratchet was a popular amusement for Melody and Petrov, and the two lombaxes egged the warbots on eagerly.

Ratchet chuckled, "They promised t' turn me into a fur cape if I screwed up."

Petrov howled with laughter again. Colonel Caliber moved out from behind his desk, nitro reaper in hand, moving quickly to close the distance between them. They were outside of the effective range of the weapon, but not for very long.

Ratchet, Petrov and Talwyn climbed onto the nearby teleporter. Petrov made another obscene gesture at the colonel as the scanner arms shot upward.

* * * * *

They found themselves outside the main entrance to Reg's rather large and rambling ancestral home in Region 8. A handful of long established lombax families, including the Solstices, the Neutrinos and the Tachyons, had built rather large estates on New Fastoon during the period of exploration after the Great War. At the time, they were intended as a relaxing retreat from daily life in Polaris and as outposts for visitors experimenting with the dimensionator. When Percival Tachyon attacked Fastoon, the Neutrino Estate was used by then Prime Minister Charles (Chuck) Neutrino and Petrov as the primary bridgehead during the Flight, and temporarily held thousands of lombax families as they crossed the rift. After the families checked in with a census, they were found other short term lodgings and moved on; some to stay in the Neutrino Estate, some moving to the Solstice House, still more to the other family homes, anywhere they could find established shelter. Once there, the lombaxes set about rebuilding their cities on New Fastoon. But these Estates remained; they held a special significance to the lombax people and were declared historic preservations. Even the Tachyon ancestral home, abandoned when the entire family line was eliminated by Percival in his initial betrayal, was kept intact and now housed some historic research offices and, of course, the Azimuth Memorial Museum that was dedicated in the family's memory.

Ratchet was always stuck by a sense of awe at the sheer scope of Reg's estate. He knew that it was built and maintained through multiple generations, but its grandeur never ceased to amaze him. Talwyn drew his attention to a vehicle work area next to the main door. From the look of it, Reg had picked up another hoverbike - a real beauty! It looked _fast_! Ratchet chuckled; his garage on Veldin would not have even covered Reg's parking lot!

Talwyn looked at the assembled 'bikes, hoverboards, rocket sleds and other toys. She let out a low whistle. "I guess Shatterglas is a best seller..."

Petrov chuckled. "That's a biggie, I know. But Reg's got a lotta sponsorships running. That's how the CALR's funded really; sponsorships are paid outta the sponsor's personal accounts. Only the core administrivia's outta the general pool. I've gotta few out there too." He looked at Ratchet. "Ya got any sponsorships runnin' yet, Tiny?"

Ratchet nodded. "I've got a couple. Just gettin' started, really; the fuel additive's the first t' get t' testing stage. I didn't even know it came outta my pocket; my balance hasn't dropped at all!"

Petrov chuckled. "Compound interest... Plus ya get a cut outta anythin' that succeeds. If it makes it big time, well..." he gestured around the well manicured grounds and the landing pad, "ya get the idea."

Petrov moved toward the door, saying, "If yer lucky, we'll catch Spiff too. He visits Mel this time every week. He can explain it better, if ya really wanna know..." He waved his hand over the alarm sensor. There was no reply. Petrov waved his hand again. Still no reply. Petrov glared up at a scanner nestled in the upper corner above the doorframe and bellowed at the top of his lungs, "Solstice! Open it!"

The door cycled open and Petrov led the way in. They passed by huge open areas, large galleries, corridors leading into the distance and rooms of all different dedicated functions, Petrov leading them by memory, until they finally came to a much smaller door. Reg and his family occupied only a very tiny fraction of the house, and this suite of rooms was relatively isolated. Petrov knocked heavily with his gloved hand on the completely unadorned thorntree wood door.

The door swung open on antique metal hinges. Prime Minister Reginald Solstice stood in the opening wearing only grey baggy exercise slacks. He no longer had that yellow gauze around his tail, and Ratchet could see that while his fur was beginning to grow back, it was still in the annoying stubble phase. Near the very tip of his tail, a date (Melody and Reg's bonding date, to be specific) had been tastefully inked into the surface of his skin. It still looked rather red and painful as though it had been freshly done, but the fur was already starting to grow out and obscure it. The rest of his fur was matted and sticking up in places, and he was yawning as if he had just awoken. "Neutrino," he began in a plaintive, sleepy voice, "this better be good..." Reg's voice faltered and his eyes opened really wide when he saw Ratchet and Talwyn with Petrov. His ears perked in surprise and his tail lashed from side to side. "Ratchet! Talwyn! I wasn't expecting ya. Come on in!" He turned into the suite and shouted, "Mel! It's Ratchet and Talwyn!"

Reg lead the way to a small, sun filled breakfast nook. Melody was seated at the table, wearing a baggy exercise jumpsuit similar in construction to Reg's, only in white with a turquoise stripe running down one side that matched the color of her eyes quite closely. She looked as though she had been awake for a while, and was currently enjoying a nice hearty breakfast. Her ears perked up as soon as they walked in the door. Melody took one look at Talwyn's face and grinned. She quickly brought her cup of extremely strong sludge (it was making Ratchet's muzzle fur tingle even at this distance) to her lips, but did not sip it; she was merely using it to camouflage the expression on her face.

Spiff was standing next to the table, wearing an impeccably clean grey suite and crimson trimmed shirt. He was not wearing his traditional spectacles; they were folded and stored in his breast pocket. Spiff's hands held a cup of an herbal infusion. Ratchet and Talwyn had gotten to know Spiff better in the year plus they had been on New Fastoon, but Spiff was still a bit uncomfortable in their presence. Melody had explained early on that it was nothing personal; it just took a very long time for her somewhat stiff and shy brother to get comfortable with anyone.

Reg sat down in the sunlight in the breakfast nook, closed his eyes and stretched slightly as he felt the sun warming the fur on his back. He opened his eyes with a sigh and stared at Ratchet and Talwyn. "So, what brings ya here? Didja see my new toy outside? I think it'll whip yer tail, even without that cool additive you've been playin' with..."

Ratchet grinned, but Petrov spoke before he could reply. "Stow it, Reg. This is important."

Reg's ears perked and he glanced at Petrov briefly, looking into his sparkling, sunny blue eyes. Reg's eyes opened even wider and a smile started to form on his own face that he did not even bother trying to hide. He quickly sat up and looked at Ratchet and Talwyn expectantly, in silence.

Ratchet and Talwyn looked at each other for a second. It was quite plain to both of them that their surprise wasn't really all that much of a surprise after all. It seemed as though they were, truly, the last to know.

Ratchet made a gesture to Talwyn, signaling her to go ahead. Talwyn nodded. "Ratchet and I wanted to stop by and tell you in person..." She paused. Reg was leaning forward, drinking in every word she said. Melody had put her sludge cup down, also eagerly perking her ears in their direction. Spiff looked at them with a very serious expression on his face. "We bonded."

There was silence for a fraction of a second. Then Melody quickly stood, closed the distance between them and grabbed Talwyn in a hug. "I'm so happy for you! I guess your 'research' paid off!"

Reg jumped out of his seat in the sunlight, climbed over the table (knocking over Melody's sludge and nearly stepping in some flavored fructose syrup along the way) and grabbed Ratchet in an extremely tight bear hug. "Congratulations, Ratchet! You couldn't've made a better choice!"

Spiff moved forward and clasped Ratchet's unengulfed hand, shaking it. His voice was edged with a rare hint of emotion as he quietly said, "Excellent! My best wishes to you both!"

After a few moments had passed, Reg and Melody sat back down. Reg mopped up the spilled sludge while Melody started questioning the couple. "So? Details! When?"

Talwyn smiled, "We decided to bond last night. Ratchet made sure that we entered it into the registry before midnight struck..."

Ratchet grinned at Reg, "I just wanted t' make sure there was no, uh, misunderstanding later."

Melody and Reg both laughed at that one. Spiff looked at Reg's tail. When he noticed the fresh ink, his ears perked and a somewhat twisted smile grew on his face.

"By the way, Spiff," Ratchet started, "One o' these days, we've really gotta update that registry software. Talwyn 'n I couldn't stop laughin' through the whole thing."

Reg started laughing and did a passable imitation of the announcer, saying, "You may select 'cancel' at any time..."

Petrov looked at him, shocked, "They're still usin' that?"

Spiff grew serious and pulled out a portable display unit. He made a quick note and said, "I'll put it on the agenda for tomorrow's meeting. I do not think that software has been touched for over three decades..."

Melody looked at her brother briefly, rolled her eyes and turned back to Talwyn, "If you don't mind, how did you start the conversation? Last week you seemed a bit nervous about it..."

A rather suggestive grin grew on Talwyn's face. "I just did what came naturally. I waited until Ratchet wasn't looking and slapped a neuralock on him..."

Melody exploded into a fit of laughter. Petrov had already heard it, but could not help laughing out loud again. Reg's face split into a smile, he lowered his eyes to the table and shook his head back and forth muttering, "Entrapment..."

When Melody could catch her breath, she said, "I guess they came in handy, huh?"

Talwyn nodded, "Very much so. Thanks! We used them all last night."

That caught Reg's ears. "All?" He looked up at Talwyn, then shifted his gaze to Ratchet. "They come in a six pack."

Ratchet grew very embarrassed. Being raised on Veldin, he was still not used to how openly lombaxes discussed... certain matters. His face split into a really silly grin and his eyes dropped to the floor. He couldn't meet Reg's gaze as he explained, "The first one was before we bonded, t' get my attention. The others were later... After we went t' bed..."

Ratchet heard Petrov roar with laughter behind him. This was the first time the general had heard that particular detail. He put one hand on Ratchet's shoulder, the other on Talwyn's. Reg looked at Ratchet and said in a sympathetic voice, "I know how ya feel..." Reg smirked a bit and added, "Helluva lotta fun though, wasn't it?" Ratchet looked up, still with that silly grin on his face, and nodded.

Talwyn blushed a bit, but did not avert her eyes. She looked at Melody with a bit of a grin on her own face. Melody returned her grin with a rather mischievous one, "I can always get you more if you enjoyed them..."

Spiff appeared shocked by the entire conversation. He looked at his older sister and muttered, "Where are you getting them from? They're only supposed to be provided to LDM deputies for official use..."

Mel looked at Spiff with a gleam in her eyes. "Oh, I have my sources..."

Reg looked down at the table briefly and then startled as though he just realized something. "Why don't you sit down and join us! Have some breakfast and we can chat for a bit! Justin's been fed, and he's napping in the nursery..."

Ratchet was about to grab a chair when Talwyn put her hand on his shoulder. "It sounds great, but we really should be going. We still have to see Rich and Nichole; we don't want them to read about it in a news feed."

Ratchet's ears drooped a little as he looked longingly at the breakfast enticingly laid out before him, and the aroma of Melody's extra strong sludge filled his muzzle. But Talwyn was right. It was just two more stops.

Melody's eyes glanced towards Reg, then Petrov, before returning to Talwyn. "I understand. Why don't you go see Nichole at the med center first, though? Spiff was going there anyway to get his annual physical. Weren't you, Spiff?" Her tone carried an unusual edge when speaking to her brother.

Spiff looked at her a bit confused. "I was?" Melody glared at him. "Oh! Yes. I was. Thank you for reminding me." Spiff put down his infusion. "Would you please summon a teleporter pad, Ratchet?" Spiff said. "Reg does not have one nearby."

Ratchet nodded and used his neural matrix to summon a pad. Spiff, Talwyn and Ratchet climbed onto it. As they were doing so, Ratchet saw Petrov nod to Reg. "Done?" Petrov asked with a somewhat vicious grin on his face. Reg nodded with a wicked gleam in his brown eyes and replied "Done."

Ratchet felt his ears twitch at the words. He looked back and forth between the pair, and also saw Melody's somewhat exasperated look. "What?" he asked.

Petrov and Reg looked at him and in unison replied back "Nothing..." unconvincingly. Spiff said out loud, "Region 9, Med Center". The teleporter flashed to life.

* * * * *

They materialized in the waiting room / triage center for the med center in Region 9. Ratchet had only been here twice before. The first time, he had gone with Petrov after Ratchet had, uh, 'accidentally' broken the general's arm in the council chamber. The second was a few days later when he and Petrov had teleported through looking for a quiet place to talk. Both times, the room had been almost completely empty. Today, however, was slightly busier.

There were a total of three other lombaxes gathered, waiting in chairs to see the doctor for treatment. Two of the lombaxes appeared to have broken bones: one had a splint around his ankle, the other's arm was in a sling. Nanotech probably minimized the damage, but they still needed to be checked out to make sure that the bones were properly set before the final healing. The third lombax had a series of thruster burns on the fur around his face and ears.

Spiff slowly began backing away from them, heading toward the main teleporter. Ratchet looked up at him a little puzzled. "Don't you hafta see the doctor?"

Spiff stopped, looking around the room, avoiding Ratchet's eyes. "Uh. No. I forgot; I have a conflicting appointment." He walked quickly over to Ratchet, looked him in the eye and shook his hand again. "Congratulations again, Ratchet. I'll see you in the council chamber next week." Spiff's voice took on a slight edge, "Don't be late!"

Ratchet's eyes widened a little and the lombax mumbled, "Next week? Don't we have a session tomorrow?"

Spiff's ears drooped slightly. He ignored Ratchet's question completely and turned to Talwyn. He shook her hand as well, saying, "My best wishes, of course." Spiff then walked, rather rapidly, to the teleporter and was gone before either Ratchet or Talwyn could react.

Ratchet and Talwyn looked at each other. "I thought we had a council meeting tomorrow," Ratchet started in a slightly confused voice.

Talwyn shook her head. "Maybe he's giving you the week off?" she asked uncertainly. She couldn't shake off the feeling that something wasn't quite right...

Ratchet shook his head. "I doubt it. This _is_ Spiff we're talkin' about. I better check later t' make sure."

A diagnostic bot that had been hovering near the lombax with the burns approached them. The scanner antenna at the top of its head pulsed rapidly, while numerous appendages, each fitted with a specific medical tool or device, stowed themselves away into grooves and slots built into the inverted cone that made up the robot's body. "What's your name, and how're you injured?" the robot asked in a flat, routine voice, as though bored.

Ratchet answered, "We're just here to see Doctor Neutrino. Is she around?"

The robot ignored the question for a second as it completed the scan. The pulsing in the antenna stopped. "Hmmm... Other that a series of recently healed stab wounds," Talwyn blushed slightly at that, "I can't find anything wrong with you. Why do you wish to see the doctor?"

Talwyn recovered from her brief embarrassment over Ratchet's injuries, "It's personal. Just tell her Ratchet & Talwyn are here."

The antenna on the diagnostic bot pulsed briefly. They were not sure if the diagnostic bot contacted Nichole or had done a lookup for recent datastore updates about them, but its demeanor suddenly changed. "Oh! Why didn't you say so? She's currently with a patient, but she'll be with you momentarily. Let me teleport you up to her office..."

There was a flash of light, and Talwyn found herself and Ratchet inside Doctor Nichole Neutrino's office. "Thanks..." Talwyn said weakly to the empty air in front of her where the diagnostic bot had been.

Ratchet looked around. He had been in Doc Tesseract's office before, but Nichole's was far different in a lot of ways. There was no dust, no clutter, no debris of any kind. There were also, surprisingly, no books or media. There were, however, display screens lining the walls on either side of the desk, subdivided into multiple screens showing various parts of the med center, equipment status indicators and life function monitor feeds of the patients currently housed there. The third wall had glass double doors, where they could read 'Doctor Nichole Neutrino, Executive Director, Region 9" backwards through the laser etched glass. The last wall was composed entirely of glass: a floor to ceiling window looking out over the med center complex and the streets of New Fastoon. It was a really nice view!

After a few minutes, the door opened and a lombax somewhat taller than Ratchet (who was unusually short for the species) dashed in at full speed, deftly dodging around the stationary Ratchet and Talwyn who had been staring out the window. By the time they had turned, Nichole had already taken her seat at the desk and shut off the display units. "Talwyn! Ratchet! Good t' see you!" Nichole spoke in a rapid voice, bursting over with energy. "It's been a while. How're you doing?"

Ratchet always found himself a bit tongue tied around Nichole. For one, she was a very attractive lombax. But it was also because her energy was a bit contagious. Ratchet looked at her and could easily understand how she was able to run the entire med center, pursue her own academic studies with The Institute and still have time on her own to spend with Rich. Ratchet envied her stamina, and he always found himself a bit flustered trying to keep up with her.

Ratchet drawled out the words, a little slowly, "We're good. Actually, better than good. That's why..."

Tawlyn looked at Ratchet, rolling her eyes. Males... "We have some great news for you, Nichole," Talwyn interrupted.

Nichole turned to Talwyn, her green eyes changing as they watched from a deep forest green to a shade that reminded Ratchet of the summer grass on Kerwan. There was also a certain sparkle in them.

"Ratchet and I bonded last night."

There was a squealing sound as Nichole jumped out of her chair and hurled herself at Talwyn, knocking them both back several steps. Ratchet looked at them and shook his head, grinning; Nichole and Nicholas were soooo different... He had already imagined what Nicholas' reaction would probably be: he'd smile, his eyes would change color, and he'd nod saying something impressive like 'Cool!' or 'Congrats!' And then they'd sit down, have some snacks delivered and comfortably chill and nibble for a few hours, chatting about it ever so slowly. Pity he was offworld at the moment.

Nichole finally let Talwyn out her embrace and jumped at Ratchet. He had not been expecting it, and was also knocked back a few steps. She held him tightly to her, swaying slightly back and forth, and then relaxed her grip on him. Still holding Ratchet by his sides at arm's length, Nichole looked at his face, glanced back to Talwyn and then deliberately looked Ratchet over from ears to tail. "You know, if it wasn't for Rich, I'd have tried for you myself..." She looked at Talwyn and smiled, "But I knew it was just a matter of time for you two. You made a great choice! I'm sure you'll both be really happy together!"

She released Ratchet, sat down on top of her desk, staring at the pair, eager for more information. Her comm crystal paged her, but she ignored it. "So? Does dad know?"

Ratchet nodded. "Yup. Yer dad, Reg and Mel, Spiff, Zephyr and Cronk. And Clank, of course. We still hafta see Rich and make a few comm links, but that's about it."

Nichole's comm crystal paged her again while Ratchet was talking, but she ignored it. At the mention of Clank, her smile grew a little wider and a mischievous twinkle appeared in her shifting green eyes.

Talwyn noticed. "What's that all about?"

Nichole looked surprised, "What d' you mean?

Talwyn continued, "That look..."

Nichole's comm crystal paged her again. She jumped to her feet, talking very rapidly. "I'm sorry to cut this short. This is really urgent; I have a patient scheduled for filter surgery later today. I need to double check the teleporter programming..." She hugged Ratchet and Talwyn in turn. "When you see Rich, tell him he better not stay in that office overnight again if he expects to live to see the dawn..."

Ratchet nodded. "We will."

"Thanks! Bye!" She dashed out the door and vanished down a side corridor.

Ratchet was still trying to catch up to her words. "Teleporter filter surgery..." he muttered. Ratchet's eyes widened and his ears perked. He put his hand on his chin and stared blankly at the doors she just exited. "That might just work..."

Talwyn's suspicious voice cut him off, "She's up to something..."

"Huh?" Ratchet was startled out of his thoughts and looked at her puzzled. "Wha'd'ya mean?"

Talwyn shook her head. "She's up to something. All of them are..."

Ratchet was shocked. He hadn't noticed anything amiss. Except maybe for Petrov and Reg, but that was not entirely out of the ordinary for them... "Are you sure?" He summoned a teleporter with his neural matrix.

Talwyn nodded. "I'm positive." She and Ratchet walked to the teleporter. "Lombaxes are such lousy liars..."

Ratchet froze and looked at her, "How'd'ya know?"

Talwyn looked at him, and mumbled, "Forget it..."

"No, seriously! How'd'ya know?"

Talwyn shook her head, stepped onto the pad and pulled Ratchet onto it with her.

"It's the tail, isn't it...?" Ratchet said in a slightly sad voice.

There was a flash of energy.

* * * * *

Talwyn and Ratchet were standing in the Regional Office of the Lombax Defense Ministry for Region 9. Rich's office. The Regional Minister was sitting behind his desk, looking at a display panel lying on its surface, but his hands were fumbling with something inside one of the drawers. "Gimme a minute..." he mumbled. He took his eyes off the display tablet and finished the work he was doing inside his desk. Then he closed the drawer, turned off the display tablet and looked up at them.

"So, what brings you two here today?" Rich said. He glanced down automatically at Ratchet's ankle, noting the green light on the tracer. "Are you here to check out the door glove?"

Talwyn chuckled a bit. "Not today. We just wanted to talk to you..."

Ratchet continued for her, "We wanted to tell you in person..."

Rich's ears perked up and his face split into a wide grin.

Talwyn smiled and said, "Ratchet and I bonded."

Rich stood, walked around from behind his desk and kissed Talwyn. Turning to Ratchet he shook his hand, saying, "Excellent! I'm glad to hear it! Congratulations!"

Ratchet looked into his eyes. "You don't seem all that surprised..."

Rich gave him a look. "Come on... It's not like this hasn't been coming for a while. Plus, I just spent the whole morning watching you teleport all over the planet; The Academy, Caliber's place, Reg's house, the med center... Was I the last one on your list?"

Talwyn blushed. Ratchet was a little ashamed and hung his head. "Uh, sorry 'bout that... But things moved so fast, it's like we were herded along..."

_That_ got Talwyn's attention! She looked sharply up at Ratchet. He was _right_; they _had_ been herded along. In almost every trip since they left their suite this morning, they were deliberately escorted from site to site, so that Rich would be last...

Ratchet caught her look and realized the implications of his own statement as well.

Rich's smile grew even wider. "Why don't we all sit down for a bit...?" He sat down behind his desk, gesturing to two rather comfortable looking chairs in front of it. Ratchet and Talwyn sat down.

Rich looked into Ratchet's somewhat confused eyes. "So... How's Clank?" he asked.

Ratchet looked up and was jarred back to the moment by the question. "Oh, Clank's fine. In fact, he sent his regards. He wants t' talk with ya later about a trip t' Solana."

Rich's smile grew even wider, and he drawled, "Excellent..."

Talwyn continued, "Nichole also sent a message. She said that you better not stay here tonight if you don't wanna get hurt."

Rich cringed a little at that one. Ratchet grinned, "You'd better listen to her..."

Rich nodded, "I know. I will..."

Rich reached with his right hand and opened a desk drawer. When it opened, a camera drone launched up out of it to hover over them. Talwyn looked at it strangely while it performed its self check and focused in on them. A red indicator turned on.

Ratchet looked disgusted. He glared at Rich. "A camera drone? Did I ever tell you how much I hate camera drones?" A combustor manifested in his hand.

Rich noted the weapon. "Don't shoot it!" he shouted. "It's mine!" Ratchet put away the combustor, but still glared at Rich. "What's your problem with camera drones, anyway?"

Ratchet ticked them off on his fingers angrily, "Oh, I dunno... The MegaCorp Games, Annihilation Nation, DreadZone, Technomites, Galattica, GNN..."

"Okay, okay..." Rich muttered, trying to calm Ratchet down. "You've got a point. But this one's mine. Just ignore it and hear me out. Okay?"

Ratchet's eyes flickered up at the drone, but he sighed and said, "Okay..." Ratchet locked his eyes on Rich's face, trying not to notice the camera as it kept hovering and repositioning itself at the edge of his peripheral vision.

Talwyn broke the tension. "What's with the camera? Is there trouble?"

Ratchet's anger melted away. "Is everythin' okay?" he asked in a worried voice.

Rich's smile grew even wider, and his eyes twinkled with a mixture of mischief and mirth. "Everything's fine. Just a little quiet. Too quiet. But that'll change real soon."

"Why?" Ratchet asked.

"Because," Rich explained eagerly, "we're about to have an escape and a _massive_ lombax hunt!"

Talwyn looked surprised. "I didn't even know there was a prison on New Fastoon..."

"There isn't. But not a prisoner," Rich hinted, trying to keep the amusement out of his voice. "A minister."

Ratchet looked at Rich eagerly. "Cool! Who?"

"You."

Ratchet blinked. He and Talwyn looked at each other, puzzled.

Rich opened his desk again and pulled out a small cube shaped box approximately five centicubits on a side. The camera drone zoomed around to get a better view. He handed it to Ratchet. "This is from all of us. Open it up..."

Ratchet took the small box and opened it.

When the lombax opened the box, three large balloons (red, pink and white) inflated and floated over their heads. A puff of confetti was launched straight up drifting down on top of them. Ratchet was just brushing a few of the flakes off his ears when a loud fanfare played from a pre-recorded audio track. An announcer said, "_Congratulations_," And then, Clank's voice cut in...

"_Congratulations_... Ratchet and Talwyn... _You have received a balloon-a-gram from_... your family and friends"

Another fanfare.

"Hello, Ratchet. Hello, Talwyn. Congratulations once again on your bonding. By now, you have announced your status to all of your family and close friends currently on New Fastoon. We have intentionally guided your journey so that Rich Quantum would by your last destination. To help you celebrate this occasion, we decided to prepare a surprise for you. We have made travel and lodging arrangements for you on the luxury planet of Saphria. You will find the reservations under the name Mustachio Furioso. The two of you are scheduled for a one week vacation on one of their private island paradises. I believe that you will have a pleasant experience; from what I have been told, the environment sounds even more hospitable than Pokitaru. All expenses have been taken care of and all of the details have been arranged. We wish you the greatest possible joy and happiness. Congratulations from us all.

Another fanfare, and the balloons began to swell. They suddenly burst, showing the three of them with additional confetti.

Ratchet was stunned, his jaw slightly open in shock. Talwyn's face was blank as she stared at Rich. Rich chuckled, looking up at the floating camera drone and then smiled.

"Saphria's great!" Rich began. He voice became more distracted as he spoke. "You'll love it! The resort caters to neobonds, the weather's perfect and the private islands are far enough apart so you won't see another living tail during your entire stay! Gourmet food and anything you want is delivered via teleport. The beaches are made of this incredible midnight blue sand and the freshwater ocean is crystal clear. At night, the moons glisten off mineral traces in the sand, reflecting back so you can't tell where the sands end and the stars begin..." His dreamy voice cut off and returned to normal. "Anyway, that's what Mel told me. I haven't been there myself yet. Maybe someday..."

Ratchet was stunned. He stammered, "But how? We didn't know until last night..."

Rich gave them both an amused look. "It's not like we didn't see this coming. It's been obvious for a while. Petrov came up with the idea for a vacation when you first moved to New Fastoon. Melody and Reg scouted the location. And Clank set up all of the details in advance. When you told him, he set all the arrangements in motion with a simple password. And his 'regards' to me told me that everything was in place."

Ratchet smiled, leaned over and kissed Talwyn. She looked up at the hovering drone, "So the camera..."

Rich completed her thought for her, "is so that we could broadcast your reaction to everyone. All five families were in on it: mine, the Neutrinos, the Solstices, the Gaidens and the Tesseracts. Zephyr and Cronk were in on it from the start, of course, and Clank did all the preparations. An encoded feed is being sent to all of us, including Nicholas and Winston off planet. We're also recording it so you can play it back later and send a copy to your friends in Solana. The hard part was figuring out a way to capture everything without giving it away. I've had the recorder in my desk for months. When I saw you teleporting around this morning, I double checked everything. Good thing I did, too - the power cell went flat."

Ratchet looked up into camera drone's lens. He smiled and waved. "Thanks, Clank! Thanks everyone!" Looked back at Rich, he asked, almost sadly, "Are we that predictable?"

"Not at all!" Rich was quick to respond. "Just that the couple's always the last t' know. We had a lot of time to get everything ready." He turned to Talwyn and handed her an oblong box, roughly nine centicubits by four by one. "Time for you to open yours..." he said with a smile.

The neobonds looked at each other, and Talwyn opened the box. "A pack of neuralocks?" Talwyn asked curiously.

Rich winked at her, "Where do you think Mel gets them?" Talwyn blushed, but smiled and put them in her manifestor.

Rich stood up and the camera drone swung around to capture a new angle. "From here," Rich said, "the two of you are supposed to go straight to Aphelion, and to Saphria. But before you do, there are some things that I need to tell you.

"First," Rich said, looking at Ratchet, "this office has been officially declared a safe zone. It was a mistake - the transD equipment interferes with teleportation scanners. You can remove your tracer here and teleport without triggering any alarms. This will be remedied shortly. Until then, I am the guard on duty. Do you understand?" Ratchet nodded.

"If you found some way to escape from me, I would naturally be obliged to follow you. You'll need some way to safely, and... preferably painlessly, incapacitate me for, say," Rich's gaze swung to Talwyn, "ten minutes." Talwyn smiled, retrieved the neuralocks from her manifestor, removed one of them from the six pack and stored the rest.

"I'll be looking for 'Ratchet', 'Ratchet Neutrino', 'Ratchet of Veldin', 'Talwyn' and 'Talwyn Apogee'. I don't know where 'Mustachio Furioso' came from..."

Ratchet looked as if he was about to explain, but Rich just shook his head and winked. "I know, but I don't know, you know?" Ratchet chuckled and nodded.

"After the week is up, I'll figure out the new alias. And then," Rich's eyes took on an eager look and his smile became playful, "then I start hunting you..." Rich became serious for a second. "But you have to promise not to use the dimensionator, or I'll send the _entire_ LDM after you. Got it?"

Ratchet grinned. It _was_ only fair. "Okay. We promise."

"Excellent..." Rich drawled again. He led them to the center of the room. The camera drone followed, continuing to broadcast and record footage.

"But what about packing?" Talwyn asked. "Our clothes and gear and stuff..."

"I know Clank took care of some of it," Rich answered. Then his face twisted into a bit of a leer. "But from what Melody told me, you won't need anything; they can teleport in whatever you want. And because each island is completely private, most neobonds decide to, uh, 'go native', if you know what I mean..."

Talwyn blushed deeply, her skin reddening significantly for the camera. Ratchet leaned over, nudged her in the side and whispered, "Another good thing about having fur..."

Rich's smile only got wider. "Don't be embarrassed! There won't be anyone else around for kilocubits! You'll love it! Melody and Reg were raving about the place when they came back." He smirked. "And I don't think it was a coincidence that Justin was born exactly eight months later..."

Rich embraced Talwyn and kissed her gently. "Congratulations, again! Have a great time! We all wish you nothing but the best." He let her go. Looking to both of them, he asked, "Are you ready?"

Ratchet summoned a teleporter to the center of the ministry office. Talwyn had a neuralock ready. Both of them nodded.

"In that case," Rich said, removing his right glove and tucking it into a pocket on his jeans, "Congratulations, Ratchet!" Rich offered his bare hand for Ratchet to shake.

Ratchet took off his own right glove, clasped Rich's hand and shook it. "Thank you..."

Talwyn moved very quickly. She slapped the neuralock on Rich's exposed wrist. The band locked itself into place and started emitting a yellow-green glow.

"You have ten minutes," Rich said. "After that, I have to start playing 'hide and hunt'..."

Talwyn kissed Rich, "Thank you for everything."

Ratchet bent down and removed the tracer from his right ankle. As promised, it did not alarm. Ratchet's eyes opened wide. Looking up at Rich, his face split into an evil grin. He walked over to the lombax, knelt in front of him and attached his tracer around Rich's right ankle.

"Aw, come on," Rich protested. "That's just rude..."

Ratchet stood up and looked into Rich's eyes. Talwyn watched curiously. "You might wanna get used to it," Ratchet started. "You might be wearin' one yerself soon." Rich's smile faded and his ears drooped. Ratchet's smile grew even nastier. "After all, Minister Phage is due for parole in a few months. He wants t' return to his medical research..."

Rich's eyes took on a very scared look. "No! You wouldn't... _please!_"

Ratchet nodded, knowing he had made his point. "But you do your job so _well_; so _efficiently_. I bet you've prepared for _any_ eventuality... Right?"

Rich sighed and his ears and tail slumped. "Fine..." he grumbled. "When you get to Aphelion, you really should get rid of that open box o' cereal you keep in the rear compartment. Leaving it out like that attracts, uh, 'insects'..."

Ratchet smiled. "Thanks. I will. Don't worry - I wouldn't do that t' ya. But you really _are_ a natural..." Rich's ears perked, but only a little. Ratchet met his eyes and then hugged him. "Seriously, though. Thank you."

Ratchet moved to the teleporter and was joined by Talwyn. The camera drone followed. Ratchet made a wave to the camera, took a deep, overly theatrical bow and then activated the teleporter.

With nothing left to focus on, the camera drone returned to hover in front of Rich. Rich stared into the lens as it refocused and muttered, "This is embarrassing..."

* * * * *

The Region 9 Space Center is a sprawling complex of domes, landing pads and hangars housing some of the finest civilian and military spacecraft in the entire Leonid galaxy. Because the LCC is headquartered in Region 9, a great deal of care had gone into the design and construction of this specific Space Center, and most of the equipment was relatively new. Aside from the standard landing pads and parking hangars, there were a large number of upgrade shops, body work customization centers and supply depots.

Of all of the advantages of Ratchet's hangar (Aphelion's home on New Fastoon) was the fact that a large number of the lombax chi and psi class fighters were stationed here. These two classes of ships were equipped with fully sentient robotic intelligence systems, and each developed a unique personality. This meant that Aphelion had other ships that she could talk with and compete against in the available aerial obstacle, target and race courses.

While the best engineers on the planet were not able to restore Aphelion's memories that had been 'destroyed in the crash' on Fastoon (Ratchet still had other suspicions), they were able to perform a large number of upgrades to her weapons systems, her structural integrity grid and give her additional systems upgrades. But both Aphelion and Ratchet had completely refused any external modifications that would have changed her lines or external markings; she was still the same Aphelion, just faster, stronger and packing a helluva bigger punch! And with a fresh coat of paint. If anything, Aphelion was treated like royalty by the other ships in the hangar; her status as both The Keeper's fighter, and as Ratchet's, elevated her among the younger, less experienced craft.

Ratchet and Talwyn had taken the precaution of materializing right next to Aphelion. There were a lot of deputies on duty in the Space Center, and the last thing either of them wanted now was for someone to get lucky and spot Ratchet without a tracer. The odds were against it, but best to be safe. Fortunately, no one else was around.

Aphelion was sleeping quietly on her landing pad. Judging by the power and fuel feeds, someone had replenished both supplies recently. Ratchet grinned at the level of Clank's preparations... Ratchet ran his hands along her sleek lines, tracing her name freshly painted on her hull. His eyes also glanced at the enigmatic 'angel' written near the canopy. While he did not know why it was there, he wanted to keep Aphelion exactly as she had been when his father flew her. Outwardly, at least.

Aphelion woke at the touch of his glove. "Good morning Ratchet. Good morning Talwyn." Her data array strobed briefly as she downloaded the most recent info feed. "It looks like lovely flying weather."

Ratchet grinned and agreed. "Yes, it is. But first, we have something to tell you. Talwyn and I bonded last night."

Aphelion flickered her landing lights and both her pleasure and impatience was evident in her cultured voice. "It is about time, too! Congratulations! I am very happy for both of you!"

Talwyn blushed slightly. Her own ship was a clunker when compared to Aphelion. It was difficult to control and had no intelligence what-so-ever. She was still getting used to a sentient ship. "Thank you."

Aphelion opened her canopy and did another scan. She noticed something unusual. "Ratchet! You are not wearing your tracer?!?" Aphelion was immensely frustrated with Ratchet's tracer. She was used to the two of them, sometimes with Clank or Talwyn, sometimes both, flying randomly from planet to planet, exploring or performing aerobatics. But with Ratchet planet bound without an LDM escort, Aphelion was starting to get bored. "Do you have a destination in mind?"

Ratchet was a bit surprised. "No tracer. But didn't Clank tell you the destination?" he asked. He reached into the rear compartment and pulled out the unsealed box of Stylus Shavings that had been wedged against the bulkhead.

Aphelion checked her datastore. There were two sets of sealed instructions waiting for her, not to be opened until Ratchet and Talwyn bonded. Well, they were now bonded, so she opened them.

"Oh! Yes, he did... I have heard wonderful stories about your destination," she began. "Other ships that have travelled there could not get over how beautiful it was. The only odd thing they kept mentioning was the unusual behavior of their pilots on leaving... Many of them were not wearing any clothing and were rather, um, physically active during their return flight." There was a strange pause. "Um, the two of you promise not to do that, right?"

Ratchet did not think that a space craft could be embarrassed, but he started to wonder when she said it in that tone...

"I can't make any promises," Talwyn said. "We've heard the same thing."

Ratchet opened the box, removed his glove and shoved his hand deep among the cereal, his eyes skyward. Talwyn looked at him puzzled. "What are you doing? Looking for a 'secret toy surprise' or something?"

"Kinda," Ratchet muttered. Then he smiled. He pulled out a small oblong crystal component, sealed in a protective shell, and handed it to Talwyn. "An insect," he said.

Ratchet shook the sucrose powder off his hand, put his glove on, closed the box and placed it into his manifestor. Talwyn looked at the device. "A tracker?" she asked. Ratchet nodded. "Why didn't you just leave the whole box behind?" She carefully placed the tracker on the ground and crushed it with her boot heel.

"I'm hungry," Ratchet said plaintively. "We missed breakfast and I might munch some along the way. Don't wanna see it go t' waste..."

Talwyn smiled at Ratchet. Males... "So that's what you were pumping poor Rich about." Ratchet nodded.

"Excuse me," Aphelion said, her tone a little surprised, "do I understand you correctly that Ratchet interrogated Regional Minister Quantum about the whereabouts of the tracking device?"

Ratchet was a little ashamed of that. He was a little harsh on Rich, especially after all he had done for them. He hung his head and quietly said, "Yeah..."

Talwyn put her arm around Ratchet's shoulders. "Don't feel bad. You were actually quite good at it! All you did was prevent him from cheating. The tracker was an unfair advantage."

That cheered Ratchet up a little. He and Talwyn boarded Aphelion.

"One moment, please," Aphelion said. There was another quick pulse from the data array.

"What was that?" Ratchet said as he strapped himself into the pilot's seat. Talwyn was strapping herself in as well. Aphelion closed the canopy and Ratchet lifted off the landing pad, into the New Fastoon air traffic pattern.

"There were two sets of instructions for this occasion," Aphelion began. "One was from Clank. The other was from Melody Gaiden-Solstice. Apparently, Prime Minister Solstice and Minister Neutrino made one of their dreadful 'friendly wagers'. She had requested my assistance as arbitrator."

That explained their exchange earlier. "What was the bet?" Ratchet asked.

Aphelion happily described it for him. "They were betting on you, and how you would identify the location of the hidden tracker."

Ratchet shook his head. Figures...

"Who won?" Talwyn asked.

"Prime Minister Solstice," Aphelion replied. "Minister Neutrino had believed that Ratchet would either locate the tracker unassisted, or would request that I scan for it. Prime Minister Solstice believed that Ratchet would interrogate Regional Minister Quantum for the information. Neither believed that I would have to volunteer the information unilaterally, a condition where both of them would have lost."

Ratchet glanced at Talwyn, and eased the controls to pull out of the atmosphere. Once they cleared the satellite defense belt, Ratchet asked, "I know I'm gonna regret this, but what were the stakes?"

"If Prime Minister Solstice lost, he would have had to take over Minister Neutrino's duties and responsibilities on the Lombax Central Council for a period of one week."

Ratchet's hand reached reflexively down to his ankle. He was free, for a little while at least. "That includes wearing the tracer?"

"Indeed," Aphelion answered.

Talwyn shuddered. She could not imagine Reg with a tracer. "But since Reg won, what's gonna happen to Petrov?"

"Because Minister Neutrino lost, he will be required to subsist solely on NutraStix for a period of one week."

Talwyn gasped. Ratchet looked sick. "That's horrible..." he muttered.

Talwyn looked at him and said, "He did it to himself. He shoulda known better..."

"Yeah," Ratchet sadly said, "I know. But that's just soooo wrong in soooo many ways..."

They flew on in silence for a minute or two.

"I have to admit," Talwyn said, trying to brighten the mood, "I'm looking forward to a vacation. It sounds kind of nice..."

Ratchet opened a wormhole and they began their journey to Saphria. "Yeah, me too. If it's half as nice as Rich was sayin', it should be really great!"

"Talwyn," Aphelion said, "Clank has secured a secondary manifestor in the copilot's storage compartment. Based on his instructions, he intended it for your use on this occasion."

Talwyn opened the compartment and removed the manifestor crystal. She attached it to her glove and began looking through the inventory with her neural matrix. She looked at Ratchet, gave him a somewhat mischievous smirk and then suddenly blushed.

"What's in it?" Ratchet asked. He had felt a sudden chill that ran down his spine and his ears were twitching.

"Oh, the usual," Talwyn commented casually. "O2 masks, display tablets, trimmers..."

"Trimmers?!?" Ratchet said with some alarm. Trimmers and neuralocks made a very dangerous combination in Talwyn's hands...

She smiled at him. "Just kidding... But there is a rather, uh, _unusual_ collection of gear here..."

"Like what?"

Talwyn flashed him a dirty grin. "You'll see..."

Ratchet looked at her very carefully. "Okay..." he said rather slowly. Clank had packed it, so he doubted it was anything really dangerous. But then, Ratchet remembered Clank's final comment before they left the suite this morning. 'Have fun...' And then he had gone into convulsions of laughter. The lombax's face split into an equally dirty grin.

He strained against his harness and kissed Talwyn lightly, whispering, "I do". She smiled back at him, and he could see the gleam in her eyes as she whispered back, "I do, too."

Returning his stare to the wormhole in front of him, he grinned and threw the controls to the left. Hard. Aphelion executed a barrel roll. Talwyn shook her head and muttered "Lombaxes..."

* * * * *

Ratchet sat on the slightly coarse deep blue sand, looking out over the crystal clear water. The sun had just dipped below the horizon, and the full moons cast sharp shadows faintly illuminating the small island. The stars were just getting bright overhead, but Ratchet could already see the mineral traces in the sand reflecting back the light of the moons, generating a random twinkling star field of their own around his bare feet. This place is beautiful, he thought to himself.

When they had first arrived, he had to admit that he was not really all that impressed. The lombax had travelled extensively, and the tiny cabana, with its sheer walls made from translucent curtains, was rather unremarkable. Aside from the large bed, a small sanitation unit, a secure storage facility and a rather large flat area made of blue crystal, there was nothing else in the roofless cabana at all. The only other artificial feature was a large red button mounted on the door post that reminded him vaguely of the call button he used for summoning Slim when he needed somewhat questionable weapons modifications performed.

Since their arrival on Saphria a few hours ago, all of their communication with the staff had been through these buttons. He and Talwyn had neither seen nor heard any other sentient being, organic or robotic. The sign underneath the button merely told them to press and speak their instructions. With Aphelion dozing safely on the landing pad at the space port, Ratchet and Talwyn had pressed the button next to her, announcing their reservations under the name of Mustachio Furioso. They had been teleported directly to this island, with its cabana and the single ancient thorntree growing alongside of it.

They had used the call button to order dinner for themselves, and after a gourmet meal that would have put even Jacek to shame, returned the elegant place settings, candles, dining table and chairs to the kitchen the same way. The flat area was some kind of teleporter pad, and everything they requested, right down to the furniture, materialized in or was taken out from that point. It seemed a very strange way to do things, Ratchet thought to himself. But now, looking out over the water, he had to admit that it worked extremely well; they had everything that they could ever want, including complete privacy.

It was quiet; there was no sound except for the freshwater waves crashing on the sandy beach and the gentle breeze stirring the evening air. The temperature was spectacular; a little warm but not humid at all. He and Talwyn had locked their gloves, manifestors and neural matrix caps into the secure storage unit immediately on their arrival, and Ratchet had removed his shirt and boots soon after, enjoying the feel of the breeze in his fur. There was just something about this place that felt... good... peaceful. He took a deep breath of the ocean, again amazed by the lack of brine. It was just soooo relaxing.

He heard footsteps in the sand behind him and caught a slight trace of Talwyn's scent on the breeze. Ratchet continued to stare out over the water, thinking about this place and all of the other places he had been. It had been a long journey, and he was sure that there was still much more ahead. But it was just nice to sit back and to rest, if only for a little while...

"Why so serious?" Talwyn asked. "What are you thinking about?"

Ratchet didn't turn, keeping his eyes fixed on the moonlight rippling on the ocean surface. "Just thinkin' about Solana. About Veldin. When I was a kit, I couldn't wait t' get off that rock 'n explore the galaxy." His voice was a million cubits away. "I never dreamed I'd get this far..."

Talwyn chuckled slightly. Reaching down, she scratched the fur on Ratchet's head near his right ear, knowing full well how much it annoyed him. "There, there," she said in that somewhat soothing, somewhat mocking voice, "it's okay... I know..." Standing behind him, she put her hand lightly on his left shoulder and said in a lighthearted tone, "Why don't you join me for a quick swim?"

Ratchet continued to stare at the water. It _did_ look inviting...

"Come on," Talwyn said. She moved to his right side, dragging her hand across his shoulders and back as she did so.

Ratchet turned to her and was astounded to see that she was not wearing any clothes at all. The moonlight reflecting off the blue sand bathed her furless smooth skin in a pinkish purple glow. She turned to face him, backing slowly toward the water, beckoning him on.

Ratchet's growing smile had a bit of a leer to it as he said, "It didn't take ya long t' 'go native'..."

Talwyn stood still, smiled back and replied, "Our friends went to a great deal of trouble to make sure we'd enjoy ourselves, and I intend to make sure we don't waste a minute of it! Are you coming?"

Ratchet hesitated for a second, then nodded. She was right. Looking at the stars overhead and the shimmering reflections on the beach around him, he stood, removed his jeans and followed her into the water.

* * * * *

Ratchet and Talwyn lay side by side, naked on the blue sand at the water's edge. The exotic spicy scent of Talwyn's skin mingled with the faint musk of wet lombax on the gentle breeze. She turned in her sleep, rolling over to rest her head on Ratchet's chest, nuzzling her face into his damp fur. The lombax smiled and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, drawing her closer to him as he stared up at the stars.

[end.]


	19. Microstory: Bait

**Disclaimers:**

The following is yet another single chapter microstory based on the rest of my Leonid Stories (Homecoming, Relativity, Instincts and Registration). Written between 18 March 2009 and 26 March 2009, with a bit of proof reading and embellishment afterward, it takes place approximately four months after Registration.

Recommended reading order: (Sadly, while my writing style does eventually improve slightly over time, you still have to slog through the early stories first to learn the characters and plot...)

Homecoming  
Relativity  
Instincts (Bonus Chapter of Relativity on )  
Registration (Bonus Chapter of Relativity on )  
Bait (Bonus Chapter of Relativity on )

All standard disclaimers apply (see the beginning of both Homecoming and Relativity). This story was written before I saw the title and teaser trailer for A Crack in Time, but I did see both while proof reading. That is _not_ Reg's ancient timepiece that is seen in the teaser trailer. As tempted as I was to try to tie the two together, Reg's is merely a family heirloom, passed down through multiple generations of the Solstice family.

As always I reserve the right to edit or tweak the text as I see fit and want to improve or correct it. So, for your entertainment... Enjoy!

* * * * *

**Bait**

Ratchet stood next to the corner window of the council chamber overlooking New Fastoon. The sun was just approaching the western horizon and the sky to the west was taking on that distinctive rosy glow of the coming dawn. Through the window, he could still see the lamp posts gleaming along the empty streets of the city below him. It looked almost as though New Fastoon was deserted in the early pre-dawn hour. Not quite the same abandoned, desolate look of the original Fastoon; it was more as though the city was poised, dormant, awaiting the rays of the sun to bring it back to life and into full chaotic motion once again.

Clank, standing to Ratchet's right, also stared at the lombax city below. Normally, Clank chose to remain attached to Ratchet's backpack straps while they were in the council chamber. Ratchet was not sure why he did this; everyone on the council knew the robot was there and that he was a full partner in all of the lombax's votes, especially on budgetary and other boring matters. But Clank preferred to keep a somewhat low profile. Looking down at the tracer on Ratchet's right ankle, Clank knew all too well the price of being recognized as an 'official' council member and decided early on that he never wanted to be 'formally recognized' by the lombax government. And, as he thought to himself on numerous occasions, it was significantly more fun this way. Clank's eyes drifted up Ratchet's form until they focused on his face as he stared out the window. "It is very peaceful," he said.

"Yeah," Ratchet replied, a bit quietly, as though trying not to break the stillness. Thinking about the day ahead, Ratchet broke into a playful grin. "But not for long!"

Clank also chuckled and nodded in response. "Indeed."

It was unusual for Ratchet and Clank to be in the council chamber this early. Actually, it was unusual for _anyone_ to be around this early; usually the on-duty deputy for the night shift had the entire complex to himself. Ratchet had so startled Deputy Douglas Jetstream that the poor lombax drew his combustor, dove for cover behind the desk his feet were resting on and had almost sounded the general alarm before Ratchet could convince him that everything was alright.

Ratchet and Clank merely wanted to beat Petrov to the council chamber this morning. They wanted to be here when he walked in. And given the retired general's habit of getting up with the sun, neither Ratchet nor Clank wanted to leave this to chance; they wanted to make sure that they were there before dawn, just in case. They had arrived an hour ago and settled in for a potentially long wait.

As they watched, the sun broke the western horizon, throwing golden beams across the city streets below. The ornaments and details of the building, mechanical motifs carved from precious metals, reflected back the sunlight in a warm, diffuse glow, illuminating the doorways and corners where the sun could not directly reach. Although they could not hear it from the soundproofed council chamber, both Ratchet and Clank knew that with the sun, a steady hum of activity began along the streets and pedways as various drones began their duty cycles. In addition, both robotic and organic residents of New Fastoon began to awake and face the new day.

It turns out they did not have to wait long. After about fourty minutes, the door slowly opened and Petrov peeked in at them. The general was wearing his customary Lombax Defense Ministry uniform even though he had been removed from any official duty when he had been drafted to council. His eyes were twinkling a bit as he peered into the council chamber and saw Ratchet and Clank standing by the window. Petrov turned back to the deputy station and said in a lighthearted tone, "Yup. They're still here. Go back to sleep, Doug..." The lombax then walked into the council chamber, closing the door behind him.

Petrov walked over to his traditional seat at the ornately carved table. But rather than sitting down, he leaned against the back of the sturdy chair, looked curiously at Ratchet and Clank and in a mildly suspicious tone asked, "So, what brings you two here so early?"

Ratchet and Clank approached Petrov, circling the table to stand behind Ratchet's chair to Petrov's left. Ratchet looked into the larger lombax's ocean blue eyes, smiled and said, "We just wanted t' wish you a happy birthday before everyone showed up!" Ratchet extended his hand to Petrov.

Petrov looked at Ratchet, somewhat surprised. "Thanks!" He took Ratchet's hand in his own and shook it. Looking at Clank, he extended his fist. Clank bumped his own into it. Pulling his chair out, Petrov sat and said, "But when you get t' be my age, ya really don't think about it much anymore..."

Ratchet remained standing as Clank replied to Petrov, "Why should that be the case? You still have approximately three decades remaining in your expected life span."

"We see time a little diff'rently, Clank," Petrov replied. "It's kinda hard t' explain. Don't worry about it." Petrov looked over at Ratchet, standing before him with a somewhat smug smirk on his face. "So, Tiny, you picked a date yet?"

Petrov was referring to the fact that no one knew when Ratchet was born. The young lombax was approximately twenty six years old, but his actual date of birth, like the rest of the details about his origins, had been lost in the Drophyd War. Ratchet's friends on New Fastoon kept insisting that he select a date to call 'his birthday' so that they could celebrate it with him.

Ratchet's grin faded a little; it still hurt a bit, not knowing, but he knew Petrov had not meant to cause him any pain. "I've been thinkin' about it," he said. "I've narrowed it down a bit. Veldin's calendar doesn't really mesh with New Fastoon, so I hafta pick somethin' else; maybe when I first came t' New Fastoon..." Ratchet chuckled, "Talwyn's against it, but maybe our bonding day; easy t' remember and get 'em over with at the same time..." Ratchet paused briefly and looked into Petrov's eyes as he hinted at the day that he had already secretly chosen, but not told anyone or made official yet. "Maybe the day you adopted me..."

Petrov's eyes took on a slightly misty and sentimental look and their color changed to a much lighter shade of blue. The older lombax smiled at him, his ears perking, but he did not say anything.

Ratchet's grin widened and grew smug - almost playful. "We got ya somethin'..." Clank nodded and removed a small box from his manifestor. The deputies at the door to the council chamber always required the ministers to check their manifestors before entering, but Clank's was built into his design; they either didn't know it was there, or couldn't do anything about it. Either way, Ratchet had taken advantage of this oversight and had asked Clank to keep a few 'toys' planted in his manifestor to have on hand in case of emergency. Nothing special: a bunch of combustors, a spare judicator, his heavily upgraded alpha cannon... And, of course, Petrov's birthday present.

Petrov accepted the three centicubit square box from Clank cautiously; he realized that dangerous things can come in the smallest of packages. Very carefully, Petrov undid the wrapping and opened the lid slightly. When nothing happened (no balloons launching, no confetti blasts, no musical fanfares), Petrov relaxed a bit, opened the lid completely and peered inside. The curious look on his face changed to a puzzled one as he reached in with his gloved fingers and lifted a small, flat blue crystal by what appeared to be a loop of reused packing string. Petrov recognized the stone as a software patch crystal, similar to what he had given Ratchet to upgrade his RYNO targeting systems. But the string was a mystery and appeared to be adhered to the back of the crystal with a lump of chemical fuser. It looked... really strange.

"Uh," Petrov began weakly, "Thanks..." Ratchet's grin grew even wider. Clank let out a chuckle.

Ratchet reached around his neck and pulled a similar crystal out from under his shirt by a similar bit of string. Letting it fall to his chest, Ratchet told the older lombax, "Wear it proudly!" Ratchet could barely keep a straight face as he said it. Clank was watching Petrov's confused face, trying to suppress his amusement.

Petrov looked at Ratchet completely befuddled, but lifted the string over his head and ears, letting the crystal hang around his neck. His eyes were the grayish blue of an unquiet ocean. It was plain to both Ratchet and Clank that Petrov was humoring them and was beginning to get a bit worried about the young lombax and his robot friend.

"Do not be concerned, Petrov," Clank said in a reassuring tone. "There is a purpose behind this gift that will become apparent shortly."

"Yeah," Ratchet broke in. "It may not look like much, but lemme show ya what it does." He tapped the back of Petrov's chair with his gloved hand. "Come on; let's take a walk."

Petrov stood and Clank attached himself to Ratchet's backpack connecting bolt. Ratchet led Petrov to the chamber door and opened it. Deputy Jetstream was still on duty and stood up to greet them. Ratchet said, "Relax, Doug. We're jus' going fer bit o' fresh air." Ratchet and Petrov retrieved their manifestors from the storage lockers behind the deputy's desk. With his amusement barely concealed Ratchet muttered, "We'll be back soon."

Clank looked at the deputy and said in a quiet voice filled with pity, "I am sorry, Deputy Jetstream..."

"For what?" the deputy asked.

By this time Ratchet had led Petrov to the teleporter pad. The two of them stood on it (with Clank riding on Ratchet's backpack straps). Ratchet looked into Petrov's eyes and said very seriously, "Let me do this."

Petrov shrugged. Ratchet smug grin grew very wide. In a loud voice, he called out, "Bye, Doug!" The deputy looked up at Ratchet as the crystals on Ratchet's and Petrov's chests started to glow.

The scanning arms shot out from the teleporter as normal, but there was a strange blue energy discharge from the teleporter pad. A crackling sound started and grew in intensity, filling the room as thin tendrils of plasma lashed between the crystals, the scanner arms and pad. Petrov had time for a quick glance at Ratchet's face before there was a flash of energy and the teleport completed.

There were two clattering sounds. Deputy Douglas Jetstream stood from his desk and stared at the pad in shock. Ratchet, Clank and Petrov were gone, but the ministers' tracers remained behind, resting on the pad where they had fallen.

* * * * *

As the sun broke the western horizon, a shaft of golden light made its way through the barred window of the region nine office of the Lombax Defense Ministry. The main building of the LDM compound was aligned in such a way that the sunlight pouring through the window fell directly on the nightstand and tiny bunk situated in one of the side alcoves of the office, filling the room with an exceptionally bright glare.

Regional Minister Rich Quantum's snoring ceased and his closed eyes squashed themselves closed even tighter. The lombax rolled over in the small bed, turning his face out of the direct sunlight into the only slightly dimmer shadows of the alcove. In a somewhat dreamy voice, he mumbled a mild profanity, swearing to himself that he would move the bed to a different spot later that day and that he would have to somehow make Petrov pay for orienting the building to the west like that. Rich had not slept well most of the night, so after a few moments getting comfortable, the lombax began to snore again.

Less than an hour later, Rich's communication device chimed. At first, it did not wake the sleeping lombax. But the longer the chiming continued, the louder it got, until it was loud enough to break through the subconscious fog and startle Rich from slumber. The lombax uttered a loud groan, but did not move from the bed. He merely reached over and touched the comm crystal.

"Yeah?" Rich said in a sleep filled voice.

"Minister Quantum," the rather formal and crisp voice on the other end of the comm frequency began, "This is Dispatch. We received an alarm from Deputy Jetstream. Two Councilors escaped surveillance approximately three minutes ago."

Rich opened his eyes and blinked. He must still be asleep; he could not have heard that correctly. "Huh?" he muttered into the comm channel.

The Dispatch operator repeated in a very patient tone, "You heard correctly, minister. Two Councilors have escaped surveillance. Their last known location was in the central council chamber."

_That_ woke Rich up. Blinking away the last traces of sleep, he sat up in the bed. His fur was sticking up in spots where he had been resting against the cushions and his sleepwear (a loose fitting white two piece suit, with tiny meshed gears tastefully embroidered with metallic thread dotting the entire surface) was heavily wrinkled. A puzzled looked filled his tired face as he muttered, "The council chamber? How? There's no more secure spot on the entire planet! I know I'm gonna regret this, but who was it?"

"Minister Ratchet," the operator began.

"I shoulda known," Rich interrupted with a slightly disgusted tone in his voice. "Lemme guess, the other's Petrov right?"

"Yes, minister."

"Yeah, I thought so..." Rich was responsible for making certain that the location of all of the members of the Lombax Central Council was tracked at all times. All of them had tried to escape at least once, even Spiff. But Ratchet was different; he was talented enough to actually pull it off. Rich knew it, and made sure that only the best deputies were assigned to guard the young minister. Ratchet knew it too; it had become almost a game between the two of them. But Rich was in no mood to play today. "How'd they do it?"

"We're still not sure," the operator admitted. "The reports from the on-duty suggest a teleporter malfunction. The ministers and Clank teleported, but their tracers remained behind on the pad, still locked and functioning."

"_What?_" Rich shouted at the operator. "How the hell'd they pull that off? Have the on-duty dump the logs and have 'em on my display pad in two minutes. Have 'm shut down the pad while he's at it. Get someone from the CALR to run a diagnostic."

"Yes, minister."

Rich disconnected the comm link and sat up in the bunk. His bare feet briefly touched the cold floor before retreating and slipping into the matching gear motif slippers waiting beneath the bed. The minister's tail hung somewhat limply over the edge, its tuft mashed flat from having been slept on. Rich reached over to the nightstand and grabbed the display tablet resting on it. Activating the power, Rich read the report of Deputy Jetstream and glanced at the teleporter logs. As his eyes hit the most recent entry, Rich began nodding, almost as if he had expected this result. He activated his comm link again.

"Dispatch," a different operator answered.

"Yeah, this is Regional Minister Quantum. We have two escaped ministers, last known whereabouts were in the council chamber. Patch me through to the region nine spaceport..."

"Acknowledged," the operator replied. There was a brief delay and a new voice answered, "Region Nine Space Center."

Rich recognized the voice of his friend Jason Positron, the LDM squadron leader for the spaceport. "Jason, its Rich Quantum. Ratchet and Petrov are loose. Is Aphelion in her hanger?"

"Lemme check," Jason replied and the frequency went quiet for a moment. Rich tapped his slippered foot nervously; they did not have much time... "Sorry, Rich. She took off about five minutes ago. No details filed."

Rich swore. "Alright. Get your squad together and go after her. But no live fire! Just use inertial fields, but bring her in, got it?"

"Yes, minister," Deputy Positron replied, rather formally. "Do you have any information on their destination?"

Rich thought about it for a moment and then said, "No. But I planted a tracker on Aphelion. Set your beacons to..." Rich dug for a moment in the files on his display pad and glanced down the list of tracker activation codes until he found the correct one. "Tracker code gamma gamma eight seven pi submit."

"Acknowledged. Tracker code gamma gamma eight seven pi submit. I'll contact you personally as soon as we get more data. Positron out."

The comm channel disconnected. Rich sat on the edge of his bed and a slightly smug smile began to spread across his face. Jason's squad would use their inertial fields to guide Aphelion back to New Fastoon. To him. His preparation with those emergency trackers had paid off. His smug looked was echoed in his voice as he quietly muttered, "And where do you think you're going, Ratchet?"

* * * * *

There was a flash of energy and Ratchet, Clank and Petrov materialized at the region nine hoverbike track, near the private storage lockers. No one noticed their arrival; at this time of day, the garage area was completely empty.

Petrov had been looking up at Ratchet when the teleport seemed to go funny. The older lombax was still a bit confused as Ratchet took the crystal from around his neck and stowed it in his manifestor. Petrov mimicked his gesture, storing his crystal as well. Clank dropped from the connecting bolt and moved to stand beside the two lombaxes.

"What're you up to, Tiny?" Petrov asked. He was still rather puzzled about this whole thing and his eyes were still that grey-blue skeptical color.

Ratchet's looked around and then his eyes scanned both Petrov and himself. The lombax's smug grin grew even wider and his ears perked high with a mirth that Petrov could not understand. With his muzzle split in a wide smile, Ratchet stretched his hands to his sides, stared into Petrov's eyes and said, "Don't'cha notice anything, uh, missing?"

Petrov looked at the short lombax in front of him, his eyes travelling along his body until they came to his right ankle. Ratchet's tracer was gone! Petrov's eyes widened and the general looked quickly at his own ankle. His tracer was also missing. A smile slowly spread across his face as he met Ratchet's stare again, his eyes changing from that suspicious grey-blue, becoming the azure of a Fastoon summer day. A sparkle filled them as the realization of what just happened dawned on him. Before he could speak however, Ratchet once again said, "Happy birthday!"

Petrov began chuckling a little. "Rich's gonna be pissed!" He could barely keep his amusement out of his voice.

Clank replied, "I suspect that you are correct. From what I understand, Rich has not been performing optimally recently. Perhaps this will provide him a distraction."

Ratchet nodded, "Yeah, he needed a break. The routine was really getting to 'm. Gimme a minute..." Using his neural matrix, Ratchet opened a comm link and spoke out loud, "Aphelion? Ratchet. Go! And thanks for the help."

Aphelion's voice sounded in Ratchet's head, "You are very welcome. Enjoy yourselves!"

"You too! Ratchet, out." The link disconnected. Ratchet entered a code on his crystal array, disabling all inbound communications.

Petrov nodded at the precaution and did the same. If anyone attempted to contact them and they responded, the Ministry might be able to track the open link. "So, Tiny," Petrov started, "now that you've sprung us, what'd'ya have in mind?"

Ratchet grinned up at Petrov and he pointed at the large lombax. "_You_ promised t' take me fishing."

Petrov's grin grew even wider. "Yer right! I did, didn't I?" Ratchet nodded. "It's actually called 'sharking' when yer after sewer shark, though..."

Ratchet nodded once again and led the three of them down the pedway lining the private garages. They walked along until they came to Reg's storage bin. Ratchet keyed in an access code and the doorway opened.

"How'd'ya do that?" Petrov asked.

Ratchet had already entered the garage, but looked back at Petrov and explained, "I've been helpin' Reg tune his 'bikes 'n installing fuel additive injectors. He gave me his access code." Ratchet carefully moved Reg's rocket sled from the garage and reactivated the security door.

Petrov looked over Reg's rocket sled. "Won't he mind? He hates teleportin' 'n uses that sled a lot."

Clank shook his head. "Actually, it was Reg's idea that we use his rocket sled for this purpose. He was concerned that Ratchet's own vehicles may have tracking devices planted in them."

Ratchet climbed into the seat of the rocket sled. "Besides," he said, "Reg won't need it anyway..." Ratchet started the primary thrusters. Using a custom control, he once again unfolded the sidecar option from the bulk of the sled.

Petrov looked at it with a bit of dismay before climbing in, grumbling, "It's still a little small..."

Ratchet lifted Clank and placed him in Justin's newly installed child seat. Clank carefully engaged the fifteen point safety harness and strapped himself in. Ratchet looked over at Petrov and answered, "That's because Reg designed it for Melody. Yer a bit bigger."

Petrov looked into Ratchet's eyes and there was a bit of a mischievous sparkle in them. "Hey, Tiny, uh, any chance of you lettin' me fly 'er?" There was an eager grin on Petrov's face. Too eager...

"Not a chance!" Ratchet quickly answered. Petrov's ears drooped slightly. "Reg told me all about your little... 'incident'. His only condition on me borrowin' the sled was that I fly."

"Oh, come on," Petrov protested weakly. "That was over ten years ago. And what about that Gadgetron blimp on Kerwan? Like you should talk..."

Ratchet shook his head, "Sorry, Petrov. I promised." Ratchet revved the thrusters and the rocket sled lifted from the surface. "Besides," he said to Petrov, his voice raised to carry over the roar of the sled, "you've gotta navigate." The lombax looked behind him and said, "Hang on, Clank!"

Even though he was securely fastened into the child seat, Clank's hands automatically grabbed the frame of Ratchet's seat in front of him and clamped down with as much force as his servos could generate. He muttered a somewhat nervous "Oh my..." as Ratchet increased the throttle, accelerated and engaged the additive injectors. The rocket sled shot skyward at an insane speed.

* * * * *

"_What?_" Rich's frustrated voice was getting even more irritated by the moment.

Deputy Jason Positron calmly repeated what he had just told his friend, "Sorry, Rich. No pilot."

Rich took a deep breath to calm himself. This was getting annoying. "That can't be right. What did your scans show?"

Jason repeated himself yet again, this time his own irritation creeping into his voice, "The scans were conclusive. No organic life at all, only one robotic life form and that's normal with a chi class fighter. It took us a while to get close enough to lock on for a scan - that ship's been heavily modded 'n she's really fast..."

"Fine," Rich said in a disappointed tone that indicated that things were anything but 'fine'. "Do me a favor and relay me to Ratchet's ship..."

"Yes, minister," the squadron leader replied. There was a slight pause and then a click.

Rich knew he was connected. "Aphelion, just what do you think yer doing?"

Aphelion's highly cultured voice betrayed a bit of the happiness she felt as she replied, "Good morning, Minister Quantum. It is a lovely day for flying, is it not?"

Rich glanced from the bed to the barred window. The sunlight continued to stream into the regional office. "Yeah, I guess," he answered. "Look, you know why I'm callin'... Where's Ratchet?"

"I do not have any knowledge of that," Aphelion replied happily. "He merely asked that I provide a little cover for him. By the way, my compliments to your pilots; they are rather skilled, even though they appeared to have a little trouble keeping up at times..."

"Thanks," Rich replied. "I'll be sure to pass that along to 'em. Ya might as well land, Aphelion; we know Ratchet's not there, your mission's over."

"Thank you, Minister," Aphelion answered. "But I believe that I will continue flying for a little while longer. The conditions are really lovely today."

Rich's ears drooped yet again and he sighed. "Okay, Aphelion. Enjoy..." Rich disconnected the link and established another. "Deputy Resonance, could you come in here for a moment?"

There was a teleporter flash and Deputy Timothy Resonance appeared in front of Rich's desk, his back towards the bunk and the alcove. The deputy in charge of Ratchet's security detail looked around for a moment a little puzzled, but waited quietly. He had been leading the team watching Ratchet since the day the lombax had moved to New Fastoon and they had gotten to know each other fairly well. "Over here," Rich called out.

Deputy Resonance turned and walked over to the bed where Rich sat. Tim's eyes widened and both his ears and tail perked up as he looked the Regional Minister over. Carefully keeping his eyes focused slightly behind Rich, Tim tried as hard as he could not to chuckle.

Rich noticed and was not amused in the least. "_What?_" he barked out suddenly.

Tim met Rich's eyes and trying to hide the laughter in his voice (unsuccessfully) he answered, "Nice jammies. Did Doc Neutrino pick those out for you?"

Rich's eyes narrowed dangerously. The fact that the deputy's guess was accurate did not improve his mood in the slightest. He growled and replied, "Ya know, Petrov's not the only one fond of fitness courses..."

Deputy Resonance again changed his focus to stare a little behind Rich. It was obvious that the minister was in a really bad mood and there was no sense in antagonizing him, no matter how much fun it might be short term. "Yes, minister," he replied in a carefully neutral tone.

Rich nodded, satisfied. "I want you and your squad to deploy around the spaceport. Ratchet and Petrov were there. Find them."

"Yes, minister," Tim said crisply. He reached for the crystal array on his left glove to teleport out, but before he touched the crystal, he allowed himself another look at the Regional Minister's wardrobe. His ears perked again and his muzzle split into a grin as he hit the teleport crystal and vanished.

Rich looked at himself and the tiny meshed gears dotting his sleepwear. He had to admit, it _did_ look kinda funny. Shaking his head, he hit the comm crystal yet again.

"Dispatch." It was the original operator who woke him this morning.

"Who's the CALR contact for the teleport pad diagnostic?"

"Alexander Tangle," the operator replied. "He is one of the principle members of the teleport group in the CALR. His qualifications..."

"I don't care what his qualifications are," Rich interrupted, "just get him on the link."

"Yes, minister," the operator said heavily.

After a moment, another voice came on the line. "Lex Tangle."

Rich's eyebrow went up slightly as he caught the nickname. "Lex, this is Rich Quantum, Regional Minister from the LDM, region nine. I hear you're the one lookin' at our teleporter pad."

"Yeah," the CALR researcher replied. "We've got it here. I've been running diagnostics; the hardware checks out fine, but -"

"So, what happened?" Rich interrupted.

"Well," Lex continued. He hated being interrupted like that, so he continued on a little more slowly than before. "Like I said, the hardware all checked out fine. But when I got to the software, I saw something odd, something -"

"Like?" Rich prodded.

"Well," Lex continued, even slower than before and with a hint of irritation in his voice, "it was when I got around to checking out the version numbers of the software. Somethin' strange came up..."

Rich was about to prod him yet again when he realized that it was his interruptions that were causing the delays. Choking slightly on his own comment, he muted his end of the link and let the researcher continue.

"Turns out, the version of the software on the pad your folks sent us didn't match any known version we have. We started running a few more tests and going through the code by hand. It turns out, someone patched it, overwriting the normal logging routines. There was also a strange hook in the code, pointing at a brand new filter routine."

The link went quiet for a few seconds. Rich decided that Lex was allowing him a reaction; he unmuted his link. "You said there was a patch on the logger and a filter. Can you be more specific?"

"Well," Lex continued, at his normal speed now that he had proven his point, "the logger patch was designed to change the endpoint written to the file." A pause.

"So the destination was fake?" Rich asked.

"Correct, minister," Lex continued. "But the interesting thing is the filter. That was some really nice work -"

Rich broke in again, "Well, we know what the filter removed: two tracers. Any idea where the real teleport destination was?"

There was a chuckle on the other end of the line as Lex mockingly drawled out, "Awwww. Is the LDM havin' trouble keeping track of two harmless Council members?"

That did it. Rich lost what little patience he had left and growled into the link. "Harmless??? You've gotta be kidding! Either one of them alone is enough to level half the planet! And one of them routinely carries around the arsenal to do it!"

"Chill out!" Lex chided. "These are lombaxes we're talking about. By Fastoon, they're Ministers on the Lombax Central Council! The only danger is that you scared 'em away and they might not come back! If the news feeds are right about who escaped, Ratchet just got bonded; he's not goin' anywhere without his wife."

The realization struck Rich like an icy airblast; Talwyn was still on planet! Tangle was right! How could he have missed it? And she would know where they were! Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Rich unmuted the link again, "You're right. I'm sorry. Is there any way that you can find out where they arrived?"

Lex seemed a little taken aback for a second by Rich's apology. "I understand," he said slowly, not really understanding, but hoping to keep the regional minister calm. "We're working on it. We're cross-referencing the time on the teleporter's log file with known teleport arrivals. The timestamp was not changed, so we might get a match that way. It'll take a bit of time, though."

"Thanks," Rich said, slightly relieved. "If you find anything, please contact me directly."

Rich dropped the link and rubbed his face with his bare hands. It had already been a long day and the sun just rose a little while ago. With a groan, Rich got up, walked over to his desk, sat down and contacted Deputy Resonance again. He verified that Talwyn's ship was still in her hanger and then had the deputy pull his squad off the spaceport. From what Rich learned from both Aphelion and from Lex Tangle, that destination was a decoy anyway. Instead, Rich had Resonance set up both physical and techno surveillance of Jacek Calorimeter's gourmet restaurants, including having deputies stationed at each of the locations and scanning of all inbound comm links and delivery teleports. In addition, Rich set up a scan to monitor any inbound or outbound communications from Ratchet's, Clank's and Petrov's known comm crystal frequencies, including transD and hyperD. Hopefully, he would get a hit. Lastly, thinking back to what Lex Tangle said, Rich decided that he would stop by and pay a visit to Talwyn. She would certainly know where Ratchet was.

When all of the initial preparations had been completed, Rich looked at himself, still in his gear polka dot sleepwear, and noticed his mashed tail tuft for the first time. He shook his head and realized that he probably should take a hydroshower and get dressed first.

* * * * *

The mid-morning sun shone brightly through the widely spaced trees, casting dappled patterns of light and shadow on the rich loam beneath. Even though the trunks were fairly far apart, the crowns of the trees were rather high and very widespread so that they provided both shade and shelter for a large area of the forest floor. Looking up though the boughs, you could see the sunlight illuminating the slightly iridescent green, blue and violet leaves as they moved gently in the light but steady breeze that came from direction of the lake and shore to the east. Broken branches littered the ground, along with many tiny shoots and saplings competing for the flickers of sunlight that filtered through the thick canopy above them. Within the boughs, small animals scurried around, busy with their own lives, chattering to each other with their high pitched voices. Avians of many types dodged through the air as well, both beneath the canopy and above it, filling the air with a seemingly random array of whistles and chirps.

To the east, the loam grew thinner, giving way to a coarse sandy beach. There was life here too, but most of the life forms were rather primitive bivalves that buried themselves deep within the sands for both moisture and protection. At the edge of the shore, the lake foamed ever so slightly as the deceptively tranquil briny water lapped gently against the sand. A sign had been posted at the water's edge that read 'No swimming' in lombax. Below the text was a drawing of a sewer shark leaping out of the water to swallow a lombax stick figure. The sandy ribbon of beach was rather narrow; based more on winds and currents than on the tidal pull of orbiting moons. New Fastoon did not have any natural satellites and the artificial ones in orbit were far too small to affect the lake with their gravitational pull.

Reg's hoverbike was parked beneath the canopy of leaves within a sizeable clearing between the large tree trunks. A camouflage net had been draped over the 'bike, providing a second layer of protection to make it even more difficult to discover from above. Ratchet, Petrov and Clank worked to clear the branches from a wide area, making enough space for them to set up their campsite beneath the cover of the canopy, away from prying optics. But they did not discard these branches; Ratchet planned to use them as fuel for campfires throughout their stay, so they were merely piled off to the side a safe distance from the wide ring of stones that Clank was building in the center of the clearing. The surrounding wildlife had already accepted their presence here as non-threatening, so their casual conversation was mingled with the sounds of the other life forms around them.

"So, how long've ya been plannin' this, Tiny?" Petrov asked as he tossed the last of the thick branches onto the pile.

Ratchet grinned and looked up from where he had been building the fire pit. With the trees overhead, Ratchet was being extremely careful, digging the pit much deeper than normal and scraping all vegetation away from the wide ring of stones Clank was building along the edge. The digging was not exceptionally difficult, but Ratchet had not thought to bring a real shovel with him, so he was making due with his phase knife set to a very wide, short blade and using it as a makeshift garden trowel. "A few months. I got the idea from Nichole just after Talwyn and I bonded. She was talkin' about 'teleporter filter surgery', 'n I figured if a teleporter can filter, then I could rig a patch t' teleport us, but leave the tracers behind." His smile grew a bit smug. "Pretty cool, huh?"

Clank placed another stone along the ring of the fire pit and added, "Of course, Nichole validated the surgical program in advance to make certain that it would not cause any medical complications."

Ratchet chuckled, "Yeah... She wanted t' make sure I didn't leave any important bits on the pad..."

Petrov's face took on a proud, and also somewhat smug, look. "So she was in on this?"

"Yup!" Ratchet answered. "And not just the filter, either. From there, it was just a matter o' rigging the patch into the crystals... Could'ya give me a hand with the shelters?"

Petrov nodded and Ratchet tossed him a small carton. Petrov caught it and read the specifications. "Four duplexes? Who else is comin'?"

Clank had completed the stone ring around the fire pit and was dragging a larger log over as a bench for them to sit on. "It will be you, Ratchet and I, Zephyr and Cronk will join us tomorrow after their class schedule concludes at The Academy..."

Petrov looked up from reading the box. "Hold on. What about Talwyn?"

Ratchet finally finished with the digging and was starting to lay some thicker green branches along the bottom of the pit to help support the rest of the fire and allow air to enter from below. "She 'n Nichole are sitting for Justin. Reg and Melody are spendin' a week on Saphria."

Petrov immediately started leering. "_Oh really???_"

Ratchet chuckled, "Yeah. Ever since we told'em about our neobond trip 'n showed 'em the bottle of blue sand we brought home with us, they've been talkin' about goin' back."

Petrov's leer widened and he started to chuckle. "Betcha a thousand bolts Justin'll have a brother or sister eight months from now."

Ratchet laughed too and shook his head. "No bet. They figured with ev'ryone lookin' fer us, the news feeds wouldn't notice 'em leavin'. They've prob'bly 'gone native' on Saphria by now." Petrov's chuckle grew into a full laugh.

Clank dryly said, "I believe that Ratchet's assessment is quite correct." Both Petrov and Ratchet suddenly looked up at Clank and started laughing harder. Clank began chuckling himself as he realized that they had possibly misunderstood the intention of his comment. "I refer to Ratchet's assessment about the news feeds not noticing their departure, not to his assessment about Reg and Melody 'going native'." Clank grinned slightly, "Although both are likely accurate." This, of course, caused the lombaxes to laugh even harder than before. "In any event, I am reluctant to open any communication links for fear that our location would be discovered prematurely." He began scanning, looking for a second log to use as another bench.

Petrov's laughter began to die down and he realized the significance of that statement. "Prematurely?" he asked.

Ratchet nodded, still chuckling a little. "Yeah. I'm expectin' Rich t' join us later. The last shelter's fer him."

Petrov's eyes widened. "Ya know, Tiny, I'm not sure Rich'll be in much of a mood fer sharking..."

Ratchet looked up into Petrov's eyes, his own filled with a mischievous sparkle. "Trust me," he said with a grin.

* * * * *

Rich stared at the empty on-duty station next to the door of Ratchet's suite in the Nebula complex. He knew that the deputy that should have been there, Refractor for this shift, was out with the rest of Resonance's squad searching for the minister. It seemed really strange to him, though, seeing this door unguarded. Not that either Ratchet or Talwyn needed any protection. Far from it!

Rich had taken a rather long, hot hyrdoshower and airblast, fluffed his fur (especially his tail tuft) and dressed in the formal uniform of the Lombax Defense Ministry. He doubted that Talwyn would be all that impressed with the finery, but it was worth a try. At least it might show her that he took her husband's disappearance seriously.

He knocked and a few moments later Talwyn opened the door. She had a flask of very mild sludge in her hand. "Hi, Rich. How are you doing? Come on in." She led him to the dining area. "Have a seat. Would you like some sludge?"

"Please," Rich said. "I usually go for a bit above medium."

"Sounds good," Talwyn said. She dialed the dispenser up to the appropriate setting and drew a flask of the foul brew. "Here you go," she said, handing it to the lombax.

"Thanks," Rich said as he accepted the flask and sipped. In his hurry this morning, he had not had any in the office and he really felt that he needed it. It tasted good to him (well, not really, but it was extremely welcome none the less...) and he relaxed a bit. Talwyn sat across from him and looked at him rather expectantly. They both knew why he was here.

"Let me get right to the point," Rich said. "Where is he?"

Talwyn actually looked shocked. She stared into Rich's eyes and studied his ears and tail. Talwyn always was very good at reading lombaxes, so much so that she drove Ratchet absolutely crazy by being able to pick up on his least gesture. It was not really all that difficult; lombaxes were easy to read and their ears and tail were a dead giveaway. But she had not anticipated how serious or how frustrated Rich would be.

"I honestly don't know," she said. Rich's ears drooped and his shoulders slumped a bit, but his eyes hardened slightly. It was plain that he did not believe her. "Really! I have a vague idea what he's up to, but I don't know the coordinates."

Rich shook his head. He hadn't really expected Talwyn to tell him. "What if he gets hurt?" he asked, hoping that she would see his side of things. It seemed like she really didn't know and that was surprising in itself... "But what if he just took off?" No reaction... "What if he doesn't come back?" She didn't seem bothered with Ratchet's disappearance at all... Rich leaned forward and whispered in frustration, "What if he left you for somebody else?"

Talwyn gasped and her eyes narrowed. Her right hand twitched slightly, flattening out as though she was about to slap him across the muzzle. Rich's own eyes widened and his ears and tail fell. He hadn't planned on saying anything of the sort and Rich regretted the words as soon as they were out of his muzzle. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt Talwyn (or Ratchet for that matter), and he cringed at the thought of what he just said and implied.

Talwyn knew he didn't mean it. Not really. But she was still rather angry at that comment. She didn't want to admit it, but there were times that she _did_ feel a little insecure: Ratchet was a male lombax and it was only natural that he might be attracted to females of his own species. Not that he ever gave her cause to doubt him! Or that she ever told him about it. But the thought was there, and no matter how irrational it was, it probably always would be. Her voice and her eyes grew cold. "We've been bonded for four months now. If he tried something that stupid, I'd use the door glove, track the furball down, corner him, kill him... slowly..., and hang his pelt in my station to remind me of my mistake. And he knows it."

Rich backed away, startled by the venom in her voice and by the fact that she already had such a plan in mind. He knew he went way too far when he said it, but he felt as though he had bumped into a stalker mine; now he had to live with the consequences. But she did have a good idea...

Talwyn took a deep breath and her tone softened. "But we both know Ratchet wouldn't do that."

Rich stammered out an apology. "I'm really sorry, Talwyn. I know. Ratchet would never do that. I really didn't mean it. It's just that I'm responsible for him. Petrov too. And with them missing -"

"Apology accepted," Talwyn interrupted. "I know you've been under a lot of stress lately. I know you didn't mean it."

"Could you come back to the office with me?" Rich asked, trying to smooth things over. "We could go to the embassy in Polaris and lock onto him with the dimensionator."

Talwyn looked at him and shook her head. "That would be cheating."

Cheating? The word echoed in Rich's brain. His emotions suddenly spiked just as hot as Talwyn's had run cold before. He leapt out of the chair. "Cheating? So this is all just a game then?"

Talwyn looked into Rich's eyes, her anger draining away and her eyes filling with pity, "Of course it is. We both know that. They're having fun. Why aren't you?" At that moment, Rich's comm link chimed. Talwyn rolled her eyes. "You'd better get that. It might be important."

Rich touched the comm crystal. "Quantum."

"Minister? It's Lex from the CALR. We matched the teleport times and have the real destination. They materialized inside the region nine hoverbike track, near the storage garage bays."

Rich smiled, somewhat bitterly. "Thank you, Lex." He disconnected the link. Looking at Talwyn he said, "They went to the hoverbike track."

Talwyn grinned. "See? You're getting closer all the time."

Rich shook his head. "It's not funny." He reached over and touched the teleport crystal on his array. In a flash of energy, he was gone.

Talwyn looked at the spot where he had been standing, shook her head slowly and sighed. "That's the whole point," she quietly muttered to the empty space Rich had previously occupied. "It's supposed to be."

* * * * *

Petrov gently placed the small box on the ground, being careful to set it down with the 'exit' arrow pointing towards the fire pit and the 'up' arrows on each side pointing, well, up. Once it was placed, he inspected the surrounding area to make sure he had sufficient clearance and then depressed the small red button on the top of the box, counting off, "...one, two, three, four, five."

At the count of five, the box began to glow and expand outward in all directions. Petrov hastily took a few steps backward as the walls and roof of the insta-shelter opened to its full size. As he watched, the flexible fabric walls began to shimmer as an energy field washed over them, hardening the thin material into a rigid panel stronger than most elemental metals. The insta-shelter was easily the size of Ratchet's terrace and high enough that Petrov could enter without ducking his head and ears. When the shelter stabilized, Petrov pressed the green button along the doorframe. The opaque energy field that served as a door deactivated and Petrov entered.

Ratchet, placing another shelter pack nearby could hear Petrov's raised voice through the open doorway. "Hey, Tiny! These things are pretty neat. Dual bunks with robotic chargers... Oh, yeah! A chiller 'n a beverage dispenser! I was gettin' worried about not havin' my evening sludge. Excellent! A portable sanitation station and electrostatic cleaner. Not bad! And push-button setup 'n store!"

Ratchet chuckled. "Yeah, they're pretty cool." He pressed the button on the insta-shelter he had just placed. "I wish I had 'em when I was back in Solana. They coulda come in real handy. All the essentials in a convenient to carry package..."

Petrov emerged from the shelter with a slightly sickened look on his face. "Ugh. You sound like a NutriStix ad."

Clank chuckled at Petrov's comment as he pressed the button on a third shelter, backing away hurriedly as the shelter began to expand. Ratchet moved to a fourth clearing and set the final shelter, but looked over to Petrov. "That was your own fault! Ya shoulda known better..." Petrov and Reg had made one of their 'friendly wagers', betting on how Ratchet would find a tracker planted in Aphelion. Petrov lost. Badly.

Petrov chuckled. "Yeah, I know." He shuddered slightly. "What a rotten week - no sludge, eatin' nothin' but NutriStix 'n water. Did'ya know Reg stopped by my place 'n ordered dinner from Jacek's every night just t' rub it in?"

Ratchet looked up and met Petrov's eyes. He had not heard that before, but knowing their 'friendly wagers', it made perfect sense. "Figures..." Ratchet muttered. "He was prob'bly just payin' ya back for the hoverbike race."

"Yeah," Petrov grumbled. "Prob'bly." Petrov watched as Ratchet expanded the last of the shelters and then began chuckling a bit. "Poor Rich..."

Ratchet tilted his head a little, puzzled. "Wha'd'ya mean?"

Petrov continued chuckling and said, "We keep pickin' on him."

Ratchet gathered a bunch of dry branches from the large pile they made when clearing out the campsite earlier. He began building a large campfire for when evening came, breaking up the branches into smaller pieces and laying them out in the fire pit into a large layered structure with enough space to allow oxygen to enter and support combustion. The lombax chuckled. "He started it. He's the one that dared me to escape. He should know better than that."

Ratchet finished building the structure for a sizeable campfire, then straightened up and looked around. Everything was complete. He sat down on the log next to the fire pit. Clank sat down next to him. Ratchet glanced over at Petrov. "Pull up a log," he said, gesturing to the two large logs that Clank had dragged around the fire pit.

Petrov looked at Ratchet and mumbled, "Gimme a minute." He went into one of the shelters. A few moments later he emerged, a flask of sludge in each hand. He offered one to Ratchet and sat on the log next to him. Ratchet accepted the sludge and sipped it. While it was nice and strong, there was a slightly different taste to it; it did not seem quite as vile as usual. Probably just the new dispenser and drinking it outdoors like this.

Petrov sipped his sludge as well and sighed. "Nothin' like a good flask o' sludge when campin'."

They fell silent for a while, listening to the animal life around them, watching the play of sunlight and shadow that filtered through the leafy canopy and hearing the nearby lapping of the water on the sandy shore. A light breeze from the lake continued to blow, stirring their fur slightly.

Petrov's eyes took on that slightly bluish-white hue that they had whenever he was reminiscing. He smiled and looked at Ratchet. In a very quiet voice, he said, "Thank you, Ratchet. Clank."

Ratchet looked up at Petrov, a little startled at the depth of emotion in his voice.

Petrov looked into Ratchet's puzzled eyes and answered the question he saw there before it was spoken. "This is really special. I haven't done this fer a long time. Not since the twins were young..." His voice trailed off and his eyes got a little moist. Petrov grinned and sipped at his sludge.

Clank looked at the general and said, "You are welcome, Petrov."

Ratchet nodded, but then grinned a bit playfully, adding, "Yeah, but there's a catch..."

Now it was Petrov's turn to look at Ratchet a bit puzzled. "What?"

Ratchet's grin grew wider. "You've gotta teach me how t' shark."

* * * * *

Regional Minister Rich Quantum materialized at the hoverbike track and stood looking over the storage garages there. Pulling up the rental data from his tablet, he moved to Ratchet's garage. Based on the access log, the door had not been opened within the last five days. Cursing to himself, he entered in the override code anyway, opened the security door and entered. He did a quick search; the minister's hoverbike and hoverboard were there, and the newly acquired rocket sled that Ratchet was rebuilding was still not fully flightworthy.

Rich exited the garage and locked it behind him. Looking up and down the row of garages, he shook his head and touched his comm crystal. "Resonance?"

Deputy Timothy Resonance's voice quickly came back to him. "Yes, minister."

"Get over to the hoverbike track. Ratchet and Petrov were here. I wanna check the other garages and see if they 'borrowed' anything."

Tim's voice sounded resigned as he mumbled, "Yes, minister." There was a teleport flash and Deputy Tim Resonance appeared near the entranceway. He saw Rich and quickly walked over to meet him.

"You take that direction," Rich said, pointing down the rows of sealed garages, "I'll go the other way. We're looking for anything that was opened today. Got it?"

Tim nodded and started walking down the seemingly endless row of garages. Rich started walking in the other direction, checking the access logs for each one that he passed. Mercifully, they had not been at this for more than a few minutes when Deputy Resonance shouted over to Rich.

Rich walked over to the three bay garage Tim indicated. The log showed that it had been opened only a few hours ago. Rich checked the garage number to identify the owner. "I shoulda known," he muttered as the result came back that it was registered to Reg Solstice. Using his security code, he overrode the lock and entered. There was a rather large, vacant space near the front. Reg's rocket sled, the one with the sidecar, was missing.

Rich touched the comm crystal. "Reg?" There was no link. Slightly puzzled, Rich checked the news feeds to see if there were any recent stories about him. Nothing. "Hmm... That's odd," he muttered to himself. Rich searched through his private address book and found Reg's home frequency. "Reg?"

"Hi, Rich!" Nichole's voice answered.

Rich was completely taken aback. "Nichole? I thought I was calling Reg..."

"You did," she answered in that quick, energetic voice that was slightly contagious. "They're not here. I'm just sitting for Justin."

"Oh. I didn't know that," Rich said, slightly faster than normal as if reflecting her speed and trying to keep up. "Do you know how I can reach him? His rocket sled's missing."

"He and Melody are off planet for a week or so. But he told me before he left that he lent Ratchet his sled."

"Oh," Rich said in a very disappointed voice.

"Are you okay?" Nichole asked, a bit tentatively. "Talwyn called before -"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Rich said, not paying any attention and talking over Nichole on the link. "Look, I gotta get back t' work. Bye." Rich dropped the link while Nichole was still talking.

He immediately made another connection. "Dispatch," the operator replied.

"Yeah. Get the satellite defense belt coordinator online. I want an aerial search for the Prime Minister's rocket sled. I believe Ratchet and Petrov may have taken it and are somewhere within its flight radius. I want it found."

* * * * *

_Sharking is a dangerous sport. In fact, most practical, sane, sentient species do not even recognize it as a sport and merely treat sewer sharks as the dangerous infestation that they are. Lombaxes, however, are not noted for either practicality or sanity, especially when it comes to any form of adventure. Lombaxes are the only species known to hunt sewer sharks for food, or to deliberately seek them out and be swallowed by them. - IRIS, definition of 'sharking'_

Ratchet and Petrov stood barefoot on the coarse sand, with Clank about a dozen cubits further inland. Both lombaxes had removed most of their clothing and now stood by the water wearing only shorts, gloves (with manifestors attached) and their neural matrix caps. Two large rocks had been dragged to either side of the beach, with Ratchet's and Petrov's phase knives resting on each one. A stack of degradable plates was placed next to both rocks. The electrostatic cleaner from one of the shelters had been removed and was now positioned halfway between them and Clank, with an energy conduit running from it to the shelter. Clank held the crystal array from Petrov's left glove in his hands.

Petrov turned to make some last minute adjustments on the cleaner and switched it on. Ratchet stared at him as he did so. The general's back had completely healed from his near fatal encounter with the Drophyds, but Ratchet could still see the scarring; knowing what to look for and where, the disrupted patterns in the general's fur were obvious. Petrov didn't seem bothered by it at all, but it bothered Ratchet a lot; seeing the distortions in the general's stripes reminded him that he almost lost his adopted father before he even knew that he had one.

Petrov had spent the last hour preparing the site, going over the basics of sharking and sewer shark biology. The sewer shark, he explained, was basically an eating machine designed to break down anything it could swallow. Organic matter, fabrics, plastics, metals, toxic chemicals, even trillium armor was useless against the digestive fluids inside the body of the fish. In fact most materials broke down so rapidly, heavy armor was worse than useless; it offered no additional protection and merely encumbered the lombax wearing it. In the end, it came down to a battle of fish against fur.

Once Petrov was satisfied, he turned and walked back to Ratchet, giving a final lecture along the way. "Remember, Tiny, never go sharkin' without at least three people: the sharker, the backup 'n the rescue. The sharker jumps in, gets swallowed 'n shoots the shark from the inside. The backup's there t' help; if the shark isn't dead in the count o' five, the backup takes out the shark, dives in 'n helps the sharker. Clank, you're the rescue - if either of us look like we're in trouble, or if the sharker's not out in ten seconds, hit the dispatch button 'n tell 'em it's a 'sharking emergency'.

Clank nodded. "Will the dispatch operator understand that request?"

Petrov nodded, "Yeah. Sharkin's popular enough that they've got a crew on standby t' help out if folks get in trouble. It's strictly volunteer, mainly fer the younger crowd. I used t' be on a rescue crew when I was at the Academy."

"It seems simple enough," Ratchet said, retrieving his judicator from his manifestor.

"Yeah," Petrov answered, "but there's a lotta finesse to it. Ya gotta aim straight up - you wanna take out its tiny brain without rupturin' the poison sack. If that bursts, the sashimi's ruined 'n ya get poison splashed all over ya."

He looked at Ratchet and he could see the concern in Petrov's eyes. "Ratchet, are ya sure ya wanna do this? Bein' a sharker's risky, 'n its yer first time."

Ratchet nodded, a playful smile spreading out over his face.

"O... kay..." Petrov drawled out a bit slowly. "But seriously, as soon as you're out, hit the cleaner. You've only got seconds t' get that stuff off ya before it starts burning through yer fur. Understood?"

Ratchet nodded again and asked, "Ready?" He looked at Clank and Petrov. Both nodded. "Okay." Ratchet went to the edge of the water, judicator in hand. He began counting down. "Three, two, one, go!"

On 'go', Ratchet leapt out over the water as far as he could. A large sewer shark immediately jumped from the surface of the water and swallowed him. Clank muttered "Oh my..." and Petrov continued Ratchet's count. "One, two, three..." BA-BOOM!

When Petrov hit 'three', the sewer shark exploded into thousands of tiny fragments. Chunks of fish filled the air and rained down over the water, where they were quickly devoured by a frenzy of many smaller sewer sharks. Ratchet stood in the water up to his waist with a thin purple ooze dripping from his fur and ears, his judicator still in his hand. He seemed slightly dazed.

Petrov shouted at him, "Ratchet! Hit the cleaner!"

That was enough to break through to the young lombax. The judicator disappeared into his manifestor and Ratchet ran through the water, onto the shore and straight to the electrostatic cleaner. A blue energy plasma field covered the cubit diameter sphere that made up the bulk of the device. Ratchet reached out and placed his gloved hand on the sphere. Immediately, the sheet of plasma extended itself, engulfing Ratchet from ears to tail with the flickering blue field. Ratchet could feel the slight tingling and minor itching sensation that was normal as the field sterilized the surface of his entire body, gloves and shorts. After twenty seconds, the field blinked off and the machine produced a loud '_ding_'.

Ratchet let go of the sphere and it immediately began to glow again with blue plasma. The lombax looked at himself carefully. He knew it was just in his head. He knew it worked. He had used electrostatic systems for personal cleaning most of his life. But no matter how much he tried to convince himself that he was clean, he just didn't feel clean. He put his hand on the sphere a second time and went through another cycle. _ding_ He looked at himself again, shook his head and slowly walked back to Petrov.

Petrov had been watching him and there was a bit of concern in his eyes. "Are you okay, Ratchet?"

Ratchet met Petrov's gaze and smiled slightly. "Yeah. I'm fine." He gestured back to the electrostatic cleaner. "I know they work, but it's just so... unsatisfying."

Petrov relaxed and started to chuckle; Ratchet was obviously okay. "Efficiency ain't everything, Tiny. Why'da'ya think ya see hydro/airblast systems all over the place? They're not efficient, but they feel a helluva lot better. The only place you'll find those things are in ships, portables or parts o' region two."

Ratchet chuckled and glanced back at Clank. The little robot looked extremely relieved to see Ratchet standing on the shore safely. Ratchet looked up at Petrov. "So... How'd I do?"

Petrov frowned. "You can't eat red mist. Wha'd'ya do, use your RYNO?"

Ratchet shook his head. "No. Just my judicator."

Petrov looked at the lombax, frowning. "That was a pretty hefty concussion fer a judicator; ya looked kinda stunned fer a moment. What's the upgrade level on it?"

Ratchet blushed slightly under his fur. That explained a lot. A little embarrassed he muttered, "Um, Omega X..."

Petrov closed his eyes and started shaking his head. "Uh... no..."

* * * * *

Rich sat at the desk in his office. Multiple display pads were arranged in front of him, each one showing a different aspect of the search for Ratchet and Petrov:

The pad to his immediate left showed comm link connections from Ratchet's, Clank's and Petrov's private frequencies, including transD and hyperD. Nothing.

The pad in front of him to his left showed the results of the aerial and satellite search for Reg's sled. Nothing.

The pad in front of him to his right showed any teleport pad remote summons or reported control crystal anomalies, the kind that Reg, Petrov, Ratchet and Talwyn could do with their neural matrix caps. Nothing.

The pad to his immediate right showed news feed reports of how two council members escaped monitoring from the council chamber itself and were still at large despite a massive lombax hunt by the LDM. Plenty of coverage there.

Rich was getting frustrated and he pounded his fist against the top of his desk in a futile gesture. New Fastoon was a small planet; they had to be here somewhere...

Rich's comm link chimed. He jabbed at the crystal with his finger.

"Quantum."

"Rich, it's Jacek." He did not sound happy at all. "Tell yer deputies t' leave me alone 'n lemme get back t' business! I gotta restaurant t' run!"

Rich groaned. His day was just getting better and better. "Hi, Jacek. I'm just looking for Ratchet and Petrov. Have you heard from them lately?"

"No!" Jacek practically shouted back. "In fact, I ain't heard from anyone lately. Yer drivin' away my customers!"

Rich met Jacek's fire with some of his own, "I don't care. I'm just looking for the ministers." He took a few deep breaths to calm himself and in a cooler voice said, "Look, as long as I've got you on the link, can I order lunch?"

"No!" Jacek shouted and there was a click as he disconnected.

* * * * *

"Thaaaat's better!" Petrov drawled slowly as Ratchet emerged from the body of the sewer shark he had just caught and ran to the cleaner. Petrov pulled the fish to the shore. _ding_

Ratchet walked over from the cleaner to stand next to Petrov. "How's it look?" he asked.

"Perfect!" Petrov replied, adjusting his phase knife to a very dull, almost flat tip. Using it as a pointer, he indicated various parts of the fish's anatomy. "See here," Petrov carefully held the pointer above a large sack near where the sewer shark's brain used to be. Ratchet nodded. "That's the poison sack. Ya can see it wasn't touched by yer combustor rounds."

Most of Ratchet's weapons had been so heavily upgraded that they completely obliterated the shark when fired from inside it. Only his (again, heavily upgraded) combustors were both powerful and precise enough to kill the fish without exploding it into tiny fragments.

Petrov adjusted his phase knife into a long, thin blade. He quickly cut the fish open. Again, he pointed out various parts of the anatomy, being very careful not to actually touch the flesh. "Poison." "Poison." "Poison." "Ooooo!" Petrov looked into Ratchet's watching eyes and indicated a small filet in the center of all of the toxic areas. "Tasty fish!" He reset his phase knife to clean it and said, "Get me one o' the plates and hold it by the edge."

This caught Clank's attention. These degradable plates were designed that they would completely disintegrate twenty hours after opening the packet. When Clank was researching what to bring, he found that these were an absolute requirement in every article he read, but there was no clarification as to why they were necessary. He watched curiously as Ratchet took one of the plates and brought it to Petrov, holding it with both hands by the edges.

Petrov looked at him and the plate. "No. Grab it with your thumb and fingers at one end so you have a sturdy grip." Ratchet adjusted the plate accordingly. "Good. Just makin' sure yer nowhere close t' where I dump the fish in case o' contamination. We're gonna scan the whole thing for toxins, 'n if we find any, we just chuck the lot right inta the water. The plate'll be gone by tomorrow. The fish, well, that'll go much quicker." Ratchet and Clank both nodded.

Petrov caught Ratchet's eyes. "Now watch where I cut." Petrov made a series of very careful cuts along the edges of the areas he indicated were poisonous. Using the phase blade, he stayed at least a centicubit from the toxic regions, only severing the red sashimi Ratchet was familiar with. After about six different cuts, one of them rather curved and very slow, Petrov lifted out the sashimi filet and carefully placed it on the plate, far from Ratchet's hand. The fragment Petrov saved was approximately the size of one of Jacek's portions, but it was still moving slightly in the early afternoon sun.

Ratchet looked a little disappointed. He glanced from the plate to Petrov and said, "All that for something that small?"

Petrov grinned at Ratchet, saying "Yeah. I know. Don't touch it yet." He deactivated his phase knife, placed it on the stone and pushed the carcass of the sewer shark back into the water. It was immediately set upon by lots of smaller sewer sharks and quickly disappeared beneath the churning water.

Petrov moved to the cleaner and touched the sphere. As the blue plasma surrounded him, he called out, "Clank, can you scan for this molecule?" Using his neural matrix, he projected a holographic chemical representation into the air.

Clank studied the molecule carefully. After a few seconds, he nodded. "Yes. Hmmm... It appears to be a fast acting neurotoxin; a rather lethal one, at that."

"Yeah," Petrov said. "That's sewer shark poison. Can you detect any in the area?" _ding_

Petrov and Clank walked to where Ratchet still held the fish out at arm's length. Clank's antenna pulsed. "There is no indication of that compound anywhere in the immediate vicinity."

Petrov's face split into a wide grin and he drawled, "Excellent..." He went over to the stone and picked up the phase knife. He reactivated the blade, this time as a smaller filet knife. He retrieved the plate from Ratchet and sliced the sashimi into bite sized portions. "I know it's a lotta work, Tiny, but try this!" Petrov smiled and offered the plate to Ratchet.

Ratchet looked at the plate very suspiciously. After what he had seen so far, Ratchet had a much deeper respect for the dangerous creatures and their deadly biology. But Petrov's eyes were a sunny blue and he seemed quite pleased with the results of their efforts. Very carefully, as though it was about to explode, Ratchet picked up a fragment of the still quivering sashimi. Glancing over to Clank, he forced a chuckle and asked, "Clank, you've still got that dispatch button... right...?"

Clank gave Ratchet one of _those_ looks. "Yes, Ratchet. I am prepared in the event of any emergency. However, I did not detect any indication of the toxin in the immediate vicinity."

"Thanks, Clank." Ratchet tried to sound reassured but failed. He looked at the sliver of sashimi in his hand, closed his eyes, took a deep breath and popped it into his mouth. Ratchet began to tentatively chew...

The lombax's eyes popped wide open and his chewing became significantly more enthusiastic. A smile spread across his closed muzzle as he swallowed the fish. After he did so, Ratchet let out an excited, "_Wow!_"

Petrov was laughing pretty hard at Ratchet's reactions, but was careful to hold the plate steady so that the sashimi fragments did not spill. "So, Tiny... Was it worth the trouble?"

Ratchet looked at him and sighed, "Oh, yeah..."

* * * * *

Rich remained at his desk, his eyes glued to the four display tablets around him. Still no hits, still no leads.

Having gotten disgusted with the news feed coverage (extremely sympathetic toward the fugitives, urging the general populace to help them in any way possible), Rich adjusted the fourth display to show biometric scanners. If anyone matching the genetic patterns of Ratchet or Petrov came within range of any bioscanner on New Fastoon, it would show it here. It was a long shot, but it was worth a try. There were no hits here, either.

He shook his head and dug a NutriStix package out from the bottom of his desk drawer. He took a bite and started chewing it very slowly. It tasted horrible, as though he had scooped up a chunk of mud after a rainstorm, kneaded in various metal filings and a dash of crumbled chalk. But for some reason, that was exactly what he wanted right now. Rich finished the NutriStix and dropped the wrapper in the empty disposal bin next to his desk, his eyes never leaving the monitors.

Eventually the flavor in his mouth drove him to the beverage dispenser where he retrieved a large flask of water. He brought it back to his desk and sipped it, trying to drive the taste from his mouth and his memory.

Ratchet and Petrov. Petrov and Ratchet. Rich's mind raced in circles. Petrov had actually done this very job for nearly two decades between the Flight and Ratchet's return. He could have done anything he wanted. He could have taken on any job in the LDM and still avoided the council. Yet he picked this one. And he did it all smoothly, without any trouble. And that was when they thought Tachyon was still mobilizing an invasion! Here they were at peace and all he had to do was watch nine lombaxes. Nine! And he lost two of 'em. How could Petrov manage?

The chime on his comm link startled him so much that Rich knocked the flask of water over, spilling it over the display pads. Fortunately, they were environmentally sealed and were meant to withstand a little spill every now and then. He hit the comm crystal. "Quantum."

"Minister, do you have a moment?" Lex Tangle, the CALR teleport researcher asked.

Rich was busy mopping up the spilled water, the taste of NutriStix still in his muzzle. "Yeah, go ahead."

"We've been looking at that software patch for a few hours now. I can tell you a little more about the author."

Rich waited, not wanting to interrupt Lex. He already knew what the price of that would be.

"The author was not a professional. The hack job on the logging routine was pretty basic; it got the job done, but it's obviously someone that doesn't do this very often. I suspect that Ratchet may have been the author there."

There was a pause. Lex was allowing Rich an unpunished reaction. "Very good. I suspected that he might have done the patch work. He knows enough about teleporters and security systems to do it."

"Yes," Lex continued. "It looks like he did the filter work as well. But it looks like a second author checked his work and corrected it in few spots."

This surprised Rich and he blurted out, interrupting Lex, "Clank?"

"Well..."

Rich could tell by Lex's tone and pace that he was not happy with the interruption and Rich immediately apologized. "I'm sorry I interrupted. It's been a very bad day. Do you think that Clank was the second author for the filter routine?"

Lex appeared to accept Rich's apology. At least, he continued at his normal pace. "I doubt it. This work is professional; someone with a lot of experience writing teleport filters."

Rich couldn't think of anyone that would want to write teleport filters for fun or profit. "Who could do that?"

"Not too many folks," Lex continued. "My team at the CALR... surgeons... hazmat disposal crews..."

"Wait," Rich interrupted again. "Doctors?" He had a very bad feeling.

"Yes," Lex said. "But not just any doctor could do this. You're talking teleporter surgery, here. That's a specialty. There's only a few dozen lombaxes qualified to do it on planet, and most of them are pretty high up in the med centers..."

Nichole.

"Dammit!" Rich shouted over the active link.

"Hey! That wasn't called for -" Lex started, but Rich disconnected the link and opened another.

"Nichole, it's Rich."

"What?" She sounded really mad.

"Do you know anything about your dad or Ratchet?"

"You expect help after you disconnected me? After what you said to Talwyn?" Correction - not mad; Nichole sounded furious. "Figure it out yourself!"

There was a click as she disconnected.

* * * * *

Petrov stood at the water's edge, his judicator in hand. He glanced at Ratchet and Clank. "Ready?" They nodded and Petrov started counting down. "Three, two, one, now!"

Petrov leapt into the water and was immediately swallowed by the largest sewer shark that Ratchet had ever seen in his entire life. Ratchet gulped slightly and resumed Petrov's count. "One, two, three, uh... four..." He glanced around a little worried. "Fi..." BOOM!

The huge sewer shark floated to the surface and Petrov dashed out of it, moving full speed toward the cleaner. He put his hand on it and the blue field extended over Petrov's body. "Had ya worried, didn't I?" Petrov called out, looking back at Ratchet with a smile on his muzzle.

Ratchet grabbed the fish and started hauling it to the shore. It was very nearly four times his size and he was having trouble with it. "Yeah! What kept ya?" _ding_

Petrov walked back over. "I was just havin' fun. This brings back a lotta memories. Here, lemme give ya a hand, Tiny." They dragged the shark onto the beach. "Okay. Your turn with the knife." Ratchet picked up the phase knife and set it on the long thin blade for filleting. "Cut along the blast hole where the brain was, down the back and pull this side away." Ratchet did so. "Right. Let's see how ya do. I want ya t' cut here..." Petrov indicated the spot with his own phase knife, set to that flat, pointer mode. Ratchet followed his motions. "And here..." "And here..." "Careful with this one; trace around the poison sack..." "Right..." "Cut here..." "Here..." "Good work! And lift!"

Ratchet gently reached into the shark and removed the prized filet of sashimi. Clank had brought over a degradable plate and Ratchet carefully placed the still moving filet on it as far from Clank as he could. He knew that Clank should not be in danger from the toxin, but best not to chance it. Once that was done, Ratchet and Petrov deactivated their phase knives, put them on the rocks and pushed the carcass into the water. The brine churned with activity as smaller sharks fed on the remains. They walked to the cleaner and put their hands on it. Both were covered with the electrostatic field.

"That fish was huge!" Ratchet started.

Petrov chuckled. "Yeah. I'm pretty big; only a big shark can swallow me. Usually the smallest lombax on the team's the sharker; fer safety reasons. But I had t' be the sharker again, at least once. _ding_

They walked back to Clank. He had already completed one scan of the fish and had sliced it into fragments with Ratchet's knife, but he began another scan to include the two approaching lombaxes and their gear. "There is no trace of the compound present," he said and his eyes brightened a bit.

The two lombaxes smiled at each other and sat down on the sandy beach. Clank held out the plate to them. "Enjoy." Ratchet grinned and Petrov nodded to Clank. They reached for the sashimi and wordlessly devoured it, piece by piece. Clank chuckled as he watched them eat; as he had observed previously, lombaxes really seemed to enjoy their food and no other food quite as much as this.

When they were done, both Ratchet and Petrov sighed. Clank flung the degradable plate over the lake; it travelled for a significant distance, but as it neared the water it was swallowed by a jumping sewer shark. Petrov turned to Ratchet and said, "Eight fish, and the last was a giant. I'm stuffed. What about you, Tiny?"

Ratchet smiled. That last filet was pretty big. "Yeah. I'm good. That was great, though!"

"Yeah, it was," Petrov agreed. He looked up. It was getting to be late afternoon and the sun would be going down soon. "Let's call it a day, pack up 'n get back t' camp."

* * * * *

"Jacek? It's Rich." Rich had opened another link to the chef and his voice was very contrite.

"Yeah?" Jacek sounded as though he had cooled down a bit, but was still being rather guarded towards the Regional Minister.

"I'm sorry about before," Rich began. "It's been a really long day. I'm having the deputies stand down; they'll be leaving in a few minutes." Rich had already contacted Deputy Timothy Resonance and told the squad leader to stop the physical surveillance and return to their bases until further notice. There was no sense having them standing around waiting. The next move belonged to Ratchet and Petrov.

"Good!" Jacek said. There was a slight pause. "Look, I know yer worried. I know ya feel responsible. But they're big 'baxes now; they can take care o' themselves. I'm jus' tryin' t' run a business here. I don't need the LDM watchin' my customers ev'ry time somethin' weird happens."

"I know," Rich admitted. "I didn't mean to cause you any trouble. Sorry t' put you through that."

"Okay. I understand." There was a pause from Jacek. "Uh, look... Ya still want lunch? Or, maybe dinner?"

Rich glanced down at the three NutriStix wrappers in the disposal bin next to his desk. He felt a little queasy. "Not right now," he said. "But thanks. Maybe later. But while I've got you on the link, how about some forgive-me-blooms?"

"Nichole?" Jacek said, surprised.

"Yeah..." Rich said weakly. And in a near whisper, he added, "...and Talwyn..."

Jacek whistled. "Wow. Yer really pissin' ev'ryone off today, ain't ya?"

Rich merely groaned in reply. "...yeah..."

Jacek felt a little sorry for the Regional Minister. Everybody has bad days and it sounded like Rich had been having a string of them for a while. As gently as he could, he asked, "How bad'ja screw up?"

* * * * *

It was late afternoon and the sun was starting to dip down and touch the eastern horizon. The sky to the west had already begun to darken, but the waters of the lake reflected the solar disk and the rose, rust and fire of sunset. There was a stillness over the water. The light breeze that had been with them all day continued to blow across the campsite, stirring the fur of the lombaxes as they relaxed around the campfire.

Clank's eyes stared deeply into the flames and he had shifted his focus to the molecular level, watching the combustion process in a spectacle that was always shifting, always random. The tiny robot was fascinated by the strange mix of chaos and structure and he was captivated by the events before him. There was so much happening, far more than organic eyes could detect, and Clank's sensors were powerful enough to watch it all.

Ratchet had used his incinerator to ignite the carefully stacked branches in the pit and the entire campsite was filled with the dancing shadows cast by the crackling flames. The young lombax had put on his backpack straps, with the connecting bolt for Clank to ride on. Otherwise he was still wearing his shorts, gloves and neural matrix, enjoying the feel of the steady, cool breeze in his fur. He sat on the log, poking at the fire with a long stick and glancing over on occasion to Clank. Each leap of sparks into the air from his prodding caused his friends eyes to widen slightly and his jaw to drop briefly. Ratchet knew that Clank loved campfires and he was more that happy to oblige, enjoying his friend's reaction to them.

Petrov sat back on the log, eyes closed, with his face toward the setting sun and the breeze to the east. The retired general had changed back into his LDM uniform, the one that he was wearing that morning for the council session. He had a flask of sludge in his hand and he periodically took a sip as he listened to the continual sounds of the avians and animals around him mingled with the crackle of the campfire. His muzzle was split in a dreamy smile, content with just sitting there and existing.

Petrov opened his eyes and looked at the sunset. The sun had just dipped below the waterline, so it was no longer painful to stare at. The colors in the sky reflected off the water, creating a majestically peaceful scene. Petrov knew full well the dangers that lurked just below the surface; the sewer sharks in the lake were merely the local, immediate example - the sky held dangers of its own, some far greater. But he could also appreciate the fleeting beauty for what it was. He breathed deeply, taking in the slightly briny air from the lake and glanced over to stare at Ratchet and Clank. The robot's eyes were fixed on the fire and Ratchet's were watching Clank's face. Petrov thought back to the BetaTex, when he first met and interrogated Ratchet as an infiltrator. He knew what this simple campfire meant to both of them. Petrov's smile grew even wider and his eyes, already a summer sky blue, took on a bit of a twinkle.

Petrov's quiet voice broke the stillness. "Thank you, Ratchet. Clank."

Ratchet turned to meet Petrov's eyes, a wide smile on his face too. "You're welcome."

Clank did not take his eyes off the fire, but he added, "Happy birthday, Petrov."

Ratchet looked at the general's uniform again. "You sure ya don't wanna get comfortable? The breeze feels really great!"

Petrov smiled at Ratchet. "Trust me, Tiny, I've been wearin' this thing since b'fore you were born. I'm comfortable, thanks." He sipped his sludge. Then his ears suddenly perked. "But..." Petrov reached down and took off his boots, placing them on the ground to his left and extending his legs so that the bottoms of his large orange feet were near the fire. Petrov sighed and closed his eyes, flexing his feet and toes in the warm glow.

Ratchet grinned and placed his own feet near the fire. Petrov was right: the warmth did feel kinda nice. But the lombax soon began to hear a very low rumbling sound, similar to heavy machinery at a distance. He quickly sat up again, glanced around the campsite, then looked up at Petrov in a combination of amusement and shock; the general's deep baritone purr was getting louder and a wide smile filled his muzzle. Ratchet grinned, chuckling very quietly to himself.

After about a minute, Petrov's purring faded. The general remained motionless for a few seconds longer, enjoying the heat, then pulled his feet back slightly and started to chuckle. He looked at Ratchet and there was no trace of embarrassment in his eyes; he was happy, he purred and he didn't care if they heard it. "One time on Fastoon," Petrov began, "I was campin' with Reg. I got too close and singed my fur." Ratchet shook his head, laughing at the image. "Burnt fur's bad enough, but on the bottom o' yer feet? Had t' stuff gauze in my boots t' cushion 'em. I was hobblin' around for days..."

They laughed for a while and then Petrov grew serious again. "This is great, Tiny. A perfect end t' a perfect day."

Ratchet started smiling and his grin was a bit playful. "It's not over yet..."

"Indeed," Clank said, pulling his gaze off the fire, glancing briefly at the thick mat of orange (and some silver) fur on the bottom of Petrov's large triangular feet before meeting the lombax's eyes. "We have one more surprise remaining for you."

Petrov looked back and forth between Ratchet and Clank. "Ya mean there's more?" he asked in a startled voice.

"Yup," Ratchet said, slightly smugly. Ratchet sat up and leaned forward toward Petrov. Petrov removed his feet from in front of the fire and mimicked Ratchet gesture. Clank stood and moved to stand next to the two lombaxes, his eyes bright. Ratchet stared into Petrov's eager face and with that playful grin still on his muzzle, dropped his voice to a conspiratorial whisper and began "We're goin' sharkin' for bigger game..."

* * * * *

Rich had teleported inside the sprawling main building of the Solstice House and stood just outside the plain wooden inner door that led to Reg's private suite. The lombax's stomach was still bothering him; a likely combination of the three NutriStix he had eaten earlier combined with nerves that made his fur bristle slightly. He and Nichole, like most courting couples, fought occasionally (it was only natural), but Rich had never heard Nichole that angry before. Rich had a bouquet of forgive-me-blooms in his left hand (level four, per Jacek's recommendation - the largest hand-held arrangement available), his right hand was poised, frozen near the door. After a few moments of hesitation, and with his right hand sweating inside his glove, Rich knocked.

The door swung open on its antique metal hinges and Nichole was standing just inside the opening. She was holding the five month old Justin, gently rocking him over her shoulder and humming slightly. Justin's tail, a fuzzy yellow and orange strand poking out of his powder blue jumper, bounced up and down slightly with Nichole's motions. The tuft was just starting to grow out, giving the tip a slightly puffed look. He was really cute; the lombax kit had grown significantly since the last time Rich saw him and Nichole really had her arms full. Nichole whispered, "Shhh... He's asleep. Come in and say 'hi' to Talwyn while I put him to bed." She turned back into the suite and vanished down a side hall.

Rich walked in, looked around and saw Talwyn sitting in the breakfast nook, the sky to the west just starting to get dark behind her. She had a small flask of sludge in her hand and was sipping it very slowly. On the table in front of her was an empty gravity well box from Jacek's and on the steri-mat in front of Justin's booster seat was a small scattering of Stylus Shavings and a tiny spill-proof opaque bottle. Talwyn looked up as Rich walked in, blooms in hand. She nodded ever so slightly. "Nice to see you again, Rich," Talwyn said in a slightly strained voice, like honey over ice. She glanced at the forgive-me-blooms. "Level four?"

Rich groaned slightly to himself. He was hoping to be able to deal with his mistakes one at time; having to deal with both simultaneously just made matters worse. The lombax knew he was in trouble even before he knocked; he went to Talwyn's suite first and found that she was not there. He was dreading that they would be together like this... "Yeah," he said in a weak voice. "Do you think that's about right?"

Talwyn nodded. Even Ratchet could have read how nervous and sorry Rich was, it was that obvious. "It'll be fine," she answered, relaxing and warming up a little.

Rich put the blooms on the prep surface and stood next to the table. "I got a bunch for you, too. I stopped by your place, but, well..." Rich knew he was rambling. "I left 'em at the on-duty desk for you."

"That was very nice of you," Talwyn said. "You didn't have to, though. Sit down. Relax."

Rich pulled up a chair and sat. His eyes kept drifting down to the empty gravity well box and Justin's cereal on the table in front of him. Rich found himself nervously counting the Stylus Shavings; there were seventeen, if you counted the broken one near the edge of the mat.

Talwyn put her hand on his right arm above his glove. Rich startled a bit, but could feel the warmth building through the insulating layer of fur. He looked up at her and met her eyes.

"You look terrible," Talwyn said, trying to be as diplomatic as possible. Looking him over, the droop in his ears and tail was rather significant. But it was not only that - even his fur seemed dull and his nose was a little on the dry side; that took time to happen. "What is it?"

"I dunno," Rich quietly answered. "I..." His eyes dropped back to the empty box. "I dunno how Petrov could keep up with it." He paused for a second and closed his eyes. There was a light squeeze on his arm. "Lately it seems like I can't do anything right; the ministers, Nichole, even my own deputies... It's like..." He paused, searching for words. Rich opened his eyes, still staring at the empty box. "It's like I'm tryin' t' hang on to something, tryin' not to fall, and the more I try the more it slips away."

Talwyn nodded sympathetically. "Ever since Ratchet and I bonded, you've been taking everything so seriously. You've been driving yourself too hard; those around you, too. You didn't get into trouble when we went to Saphria, did you?"

"No," Rich admitted in a whisper.

Trying to keep her voice light, Talwyn forced a chuckle. "If you keep this up, Spiff'll be recommending you as his replacement next time he gets paroled." Talwyn was only half joking about this; Spiff had already mentioned the regional minister to Melody on a few occasions.

Rich suddenly looked up at her, his eyes slightly wild. "No!" he said with a tinge of fear in his voice.

"Either that," Nichole gently began. She had returned from the nursery and had been listening from the doorway. Talwyn and Rich looked up at her, surprised. "Or I'll be treating you with cerebral compensators. Possibly both."

Rich looked dreadfully embarrassed. The fur covered his blushing, but Talwyn could feel his arm trembling slightly. "Hi, Nichole," he said weakly. "Uh, how long've you been there?"

"Long enough," Nichole answered. "You should've told me when you first started feeling this way. And not just as your doctor..."

Talwyn looked back and forth between Nichole and Rich. Glancing up at Nichole, she asked, "Do you mind if I watch Justin for a while?" She grinned slightly. "Lombaxes are so cute when they're asleep."

Nichole nodded gratefully, a grin spreading over her face. "Please. Thank you."

Talwyn looked over to Rich, squeezed his arm and quietly said, "It's not like we didn't notice." Rich looked up at her, shocked. Talwyn kissed him lightly on the size of the muzzle and stood. She went to the prep center, picked up the forgive-me-blooms, handed them to Nichole saying, "These are for you..." nodded in Rich's direction and walked down the hallway to the nursery.

Nichole sniffed the blooms, put them back down on the prep center, sat down next to Rich, took off her glove and placed her hand on Rich's arm where Talwyn's had been moments before. "She's right, you know." She spoke very confidently in a rather professional tone, but also at a slower pace than normal, as though trying to keep Rich calm. "You're all tense... You've been sleeping in that office for days at a time... You haven't been eating right..." Her tone lightened a bit and she asked, "What did you have to eat today?"

Rich could not meet her eyes. He mumbled, "...somethin'..."

Nichole squeezed his arm slightly. "Tell me. I'm your doctor too, remember?"

"Three NutriStix..." he whispered. He could feel Nichole's grip tighten as she heard the words.

"Like I said," she replied in a light tone, but her green eyes, changeable like her father's, shifted to the dark shade of leaves in shadow, "you're not eating right. You've been out of sorts for months now. The routine's getting to you."

She put her bare hand under his muzzle and lifted his head, forcing his eyes into contact with her own. "When was the last time you took time off?"

* * * * *

"Jacek? Ratchet."

"Ratchet! They're watchin' my line." click.

Ratchet sighed and reestablished the link with his neural matrix. "Jacek, don't disconnect."

"I don't want you gettin' caught because o' me," Jacek said, very quickly. "Again!"

Ratchet chuckled. "That's okay. I've got it covered."

"I hope ya know what yer doin'..." the skeptical voice on the other end of the link said ominously.

"Can I get an order of pteradon, a large garden salad and..." He looked over at Petrov sitting on the log across from him. "Petrov, want anything?"

Petrov shook his head. "Nah. I'm good."

"And that's it tonight," Ratchet finished.

"No problem," Jacek eagerly answered. "Been kinda slow today. Who do I send it to? Rich? Spiff? I can gift wrap it if you'd like..."

Ratchet chuckled. That was a cool idea, but not what he was after this time. "No need for gift wrap. Got the trace?"

"Are you nuts?!?" Jacek was incredulous. "They'll follow it 'n find ya!"

Ratchet chuckled. "I know... Got the trace?"

Jacek sighed heavily. "Yeah, I got it."

"Cool." Ratchet had a sudden thought and blurted out, "Bill it t' the ministry."

Petrov could only hear Ratchet's half of the conversation, but it was more than enough. The large lombax suddenly choked on the sludge he was sipping and started laughing. Clank looked over at Ratchet and had a rather proud look on his face.

There was a stunned silence on the other end of the link. After a moment, Jacek quietly said, "Yer yankin' my tail..."

"Seriously."

The link went silent again. Ratchet could almost picture the large and slightly overweight lombax shaking his head in dismay. There was a sigh on the line, followed by a slight whistle. "Ratchet... plus one fer style, minus five fer brains. You know the drill..."

There was a click on the line as Jacek patched in the voiceprint authenticator. Ratchet counted down with the tones, leading to a familiar beep. "Three. Two. One. _beep_ This is Minister Ratchet Neutrino of the Lombax Central Council. I hereby authorize this payment as a public expense, per section three seven two paragraph 'b'. Authorization code gamma six." There were three quick tones as the authenticator acknowledged.

"Thanks, Jacek!"

"It's yer tracer..." Jacek replied. There was another pause on the line and then Jacek said, "Do me a favor... Next time ya plan a 'vacation'... Warn me first, okay?"

Ratchet chuckled. "Yeah. Sorry about that. I promise. Thanks again!" click.

Petrov looked at the young lombax with a rather impressed grin on his muzzle. "Nice touch, Tiny... Makin' the ministry pay." His eyes took on a slight trace of grey as Petrov added, "Ya know, you can get real dangerous when ya put yer mind to it."

Ratchet grinned smugly and buffed his gloved right hand against the fur on his chest. "I try..."

At that moment, two delivery containers from Jacek's materialized right next to Ratchet. He turned and immediately stored them into his manifestor. He then retrieved a small, spherical red crystal, approximately two centicubits in diameter. Like the patch crystals, it had a loop of used packing string adhered to it with lump of chemical fuser. Ratchet lifted the string over his ears and let the crystal hang around his neck, lying on his exposed chest.

He looked at Petrov and Clank. "Now we wait."

* * * * *

"I'm sorry," Rich said. His voice was a lot more confident than it was before he and Nichole started talking. They were still sitting in the breakfast nook inside Reg's suite. It was night outside and the stars were out. He looked into Nichole's eyes. During their conversation, they had gradually lightened and now were the color of sunlight through the leaves. There was a hint of a sparkle there that he didn't recognize, though. "I thought you were just helping them escape."

"I know," Nichole replied lightly. "And, you were right. I was. I'm a little sorry about that. But not much." She sat back a little and looked into Rich's eyes. Slipping back into her professional voice, she began lecturing him again, "But you have to relax; enjoy things; stop and smell the thorntrees every once and a while. You got too wrapped up in your work and lost touch with what's really important. It happens... More often than you'd think." Nichole chuckled a bit and stared into his light blue eyes. She raised her bare hand from where it had been resting on his arm and shook her finger at him, emphasizing her words. "My prescription for you," she said, "is to take some time away for a while; a change of scenery, preferably somewhere low tech. And stop taking things so seriously!" She stopped gesturing, glanced to her left and to her right, as though looking for hidden spies and gestured for him to come closer. Rich leaned forward and she put her hand on the back of his neck, drawing him still closer. Nichole stretched slightly, so that her muzzle was level with his left ear and whispered, "I hate to break it to you, but the galaxy was spinnin' long before we got here, and it'll be spinnin' long after we've moved on."

Rich chuckled. It _was_ kinda funny. And she was right - he had been overdoing it. She let go of him, sat back and smiled. Still chuckling slightly, Rich pretended to gasp and replied, "I didn't know that!" Nichole smiled. Rich looked into her eyes and said, "I know. I'll try."

Nichole studied his face and eyes with the look of a diagnostician, as though trying to read if he really meant what he said. Apparently satisfied, she nodded, leaned forward and kissed him. "Okay," she said. "Well, if you promise to go by yourself, I'll tell you where they are. They don't want a big show."

Rich's eyes widened slightly. Somehow he was not surprised that she knew where they were all along. But it didn't seem quite as urgent as it did just a few hours ago. Smiling at her, he looked into her eyes and said, "I promise."

Nichole nodded. Then she grinned and looked around the prep center, her eyes stopping briefly on the 'his' and 'her' beverage dispensers - Melody's had some kind of strange mods on it. When she met his eyes again, they were the color of grass on a sunny morning. But that twinkle Rich noticed before was even brighter, more certain. When she spoke, it was with a sly, mysterious tone. "And when you get back, we're gonna have to sit down for a long talk."

"Oh, really?" Rich asked, enjoying the game she was playing, probably for the first time in months. "What about?"

"You'll see..." she quietly said. Nichole took Rich's hand, stood and pulled him to his feet as well. Looking into Rich's eyes, she said, "They're camping out at dad's sharking hole. Here..." Nichole touched her manifestor and a series of global coordinates downloaded to Rich's nav unit.

Rich closed his eyes and took a deep breath. All that stress, all day long, gone. Talwyn was right: it was just a game; he just couldn't see it. He signed, opened his eyes, looked at Nichole and said, "Thank you."

Rich's comm link chimed, but he ignored it.

Nichole smiled, seeing Rich relax a bit. "Go," she said. "Say 'hi' to dad and wish him a happy birthday for me. But remember your promise! You have to go alone." She wrapped her arms around Rich and kissed him. Rich wrapped his arms around her, pulling her tight. Then Rich felt her hands shift, rubbing his back through his uniform shirt. His eyes widened and he suddenly caught a trace of Nichole's familiar scent. Rich started to rub her back in return, but she pulled away quickly. Rich's comm link chimed again.

Holding him by the sides at arm's length, she looked into his eyes. Nichole grinned a little mischievously, her eyes twinkling with mirth. "Go get 'em!" She kissed him quickly once more and then turned, picked up her forgive-me-blooms, sniffed them again and walked down the hallway to the nursery.

Rich's eyes followed her as she walked away, noticing the swing of her tail and the grace of her quick movements. He sighed slightly with a bit of a grin on his face.

Rich's comm link chimed again and he pressed the crystal. "Rich here."

"Minister, Dispatch," the operator replied. "We've had a hit on Ratchet's comm frequency. He linked with Jacek's. We have a delivery teleport trace." There was a slight pause and then the operator added, "And it appears that Ratchet billed his meal to the ministry."

As soon as Rich heard that Ratchet opened a comm link to Jacek, he started chuckling. Ratchet had to know that his link would be monitored, Jacek's too; he deliberately wanted to let them know where he was. Charging his dinner to the ministry was pretty blatant, though. Almost a dare...

Rich dumped the coordinates from his nav unit over the link. "Are these the coordinates?"

There was a pause from the operator and then, "Yes, minister. Those are the coordinates." Another brief pause and then in a less formal voice, the operator asked, "How'd ya know?"

Rich smiled. "Nevermind. Stand down the search, cancel the monitors, all deputies are to return to base. They're not going anywhere... They wanted us to know where they are..." Rich thought about it for a second. "How can I resist such an invitation? I'm going in."

"Do you want some deputies to accompany you?" the operator asked.

"No," Rich answered. He had promised. "I'm going alone."

"What about backup?"

Rich grinned. "So, you wanna play, huh?" Rich thought to himself. "Let the hunt begin!" He manifested a package of thin metal strips; neuralocks. A slight smirk formed on his muzzle as he answered the dispatch operator, "I won't need backup..."

* * * * *

Night had fallen over the campsite. The steady breeze that had been blowing from the lake had shifted slightly to the south, picking up the scent of the loam along the forest floor and mixing it with the briny tang of salt water. High overhead, the canopy of iridescent multicolor leaves trapped and reflected back the light of their campfire, shielding them from aerial surveillance. The rising smoke filtered through the gaps between the branches, causing a slight rustle from the convection currents before scattering and dissipating in the night air. Over the waters of the lake to the east, the stars shone very brightly, undistorted by the light pollution within the city. The familiar constellations reflected back on the surface, shimmering slightly as the water rippled from the breeze. All around them, the diurnal animals and avians had already sought their nests, but continued to chatter among themselves about food, territory, mates and young.

Petrov sat one of the logs, the firelight casting a sharp silhouette of the lombax on the insta-shelter behind him, sipping his sludge and smiling at Ratchet and Clank. This had been one of the best birthday celebrations he had ever had, especially in recent memory. And if all went according to plan, they were going to be camping here for the next few days. Petrov nodded, enjoying himself and the time together with his friends.

But there was a sudden change in the forest around them. It was hard to pinpoint if you were not already aware of it, but the sounds of the animals and the avians suddenly ceased. Something new had entered into their domain and until they identified it as a non-threat, they would remain silent.

Petrov's eyes opened wide at the sudden loss of background chatter. The three of them had been expecting it, in fact waiting for it. But the rapid change still made his heart rate elevate. Avoiding any sharp movements, he looked to his right at Ratchet.

The young lombax was lounging by the fire, his back against the log and his hands linked behind his head. He noticed the change as well, but Petrov's reaction made his muzzle split wide into a playful grin. The tips of Ratchet's ears were twitching in anticipation, as though waiting for a game to being. Clank looked away from the fire and stood, moving to stand next to the two lombaxes.

Petrov whispered, "Are you sure about this?"

Ratchet's grin merely widened further and he nodded slightly.

Petrov grinned in return. He reached over and picked up Ratchet's empty sludge flask. "How 'bout a refill, Tiny?" he asked in his normal voice, hoping that his excitement was sufficiently masked.

Ratchet looked up at him, not moving from his spot. "Yeah. Thanks, Petrov."

Petrov took both his and Ratchet's flasks and walked slowly to the nearest insta-shelter. Clank looked over to the shelter, tilted his head slightly and said to Ratchet, "I will return in a few moments." Clank then followed Petrov, going into the shelter and closing the door behind him.

Ratchet lounged by the fire, alone. Except for the crackling of the campfire, there were no other sounds in the forest. Ratchet kept his eyes fixed on the flames, his ears perked, his pulse pounding. He could not keep the playful grin off his face.

Ratchet suddenly felt a thin strip of metal slapped against the exposed fur of his right arm just above his glove. The neuralock wrapped itself around, locked into place and began to shimmer with a yellow-green glow. Ratchet closed his eyes and groaned.

There was a slight chuckle behind him and Rich stepped into view. He had a huge grin on his face. "Hi, Ratchet," he said with a somewhat smug tone in his voice.

Ratchet looked up at him. "Hi, Rich. Glad you could make it. Uh... Was the neuralock really necessary?"

"Probably not," Rich said happily, "but it was very satisfying. I figure you're up t' something, so just as a precaution... I assume Petrov's around here somewhere?"

Ratchet met Rich's eyes and called out, "Petrov! Clank! Rich is here! I can't move!"

The door to the shelter opened and Clank and Petrov slowly walked out. Their eyes were locked on Rich and Ratchet. Petrov was carrying two full flasks of sludge.

Rich's grin grew even wider. "Hi, Petrov. Clank."

"Hi, Rich," Petrov replied somewhat warily. Clank merely gave a tiny wave.

"I saw Nichole," Rich began. "She wanted me to wish you a happy birthday."

"Thanks." Petrov looked around the campsite and then back to Rich. "So, uh, what brings ya here?"

Rich took a few steps towards Petrov and Clank. "Oh, just lookin' for the ministers..." he said with a smile. He retrieved a metal case from his manifestor. Ratchet recognized it from when he was originally drafted to council and already knew what it contained. "I got ya something for your birthday, Petrov," he teased. Rich opened the case pulled a tracer from it. "Want t' try it on?"

Petrov's ears fell. With a sigh, he placed his booted right foot on the log. Looking up into Petrov's sparkling azure eyes, Rich sighed himself. With the tracer in his hand, Rich said, "You know, in a way, I wish you didn't get caught..." Rich leaned forward to attach the tracer on him.

Rich suddenly felt a thin strip of metal slapped against his upper left arm, above his glove. He looked quickly to his left, in time to see the strip wrap itself around and lock, the yellow-green glow rising. He could no longer move. Rich swore loudly.

"Careful what ya wish for..."

Rich raised his head and saw Ratchet slowly walk around him to his left to stand next to Petrov and Clank. Petrov offered him one of the flasks of sludge. Ratchet gingerly accepted it, raised it to his muzzle and took a small sip. Mmmm... And another. Mmmm..! Maybe, even with all their technology, there was still something a bit primal buried in 'lombax nature'; but standing there barefoot, victorious in the hunt, camping out under the trees, the stars shining over the lake, the fire crackling, a breeze in his fur... the sludge did not taste in the least bit vile - it was _perfect!_ He took yet another sip. Mmmm... Nice and strong, too.

"Ratchet?!" Rich said, extremely confused. "But... How?"

The playful grin that had been on Ratchet's face all night grew a bit smug again. He slowly extended his right arm, showing Rich the neuralock, still glowing. Then Ratchet looked down; the red crystal he had put around his neck earlier was also glowing, its crimson light staining the lighter fur on his chest. Ratchet touched the string very gently, nervous about dislodging the crystal. "Oh, just a little somethin' I've been playin' with fer a while now; it blocks neuralocks. It'll probably be standard issue t' the LDM in a few months..." Ratchet chuckled a bit. "I already gave one t' Reg as a surprise for Melody on their trip."

"_Oh really?_" Petrov interrupted with that leer growing on his muzzle. Then the general chuckled, "I'll bet that'll be a surprise!" He looked at Ratchet, glanced down at the glowing crystal on his chest and his voice grew a little more serious. "How's it feel, Tiny?"

Ratchet looked over to Petrov and made a face. "Kinda weird. There's a huge drag, like yer wadin' upstream against a strong current."

Petrov chuckled and took a sip of his sludge. "Beats bein' a statue..."

Ratchet agreed enthusiastically. "True!"

Clank looked at the face of immobilized regional minister. Rich was smiling and shaking his head. "Rich," he began, "is there something wrong?"

Rich chuckled slightly. "You mean other than being set up, lured to the middle o' nowhere, neuralocked, with no backup? No... Not really." Rich looked over at Ratchet and still chuckling mumbled. "I knew you had somethin' up your glove..."

"Would you care to join us?" Clank asked.

Rich looked at Clank a bit surprised, with a slightly puzzled look on his face.

Petrov sat down on the log in front of Rich, leaned forward and looked into his eyes. "You still don't get it, do ya? This ain't optional! Ya can either spend a few days campin' with us, or..." Petrov gestured with his right hand toward the shelter behind him. Using his neural matrix, he activated a forcefield around the structure. "Ya can spend a few days campin' with us..."

Rich started laughing. Hard. All three fugitives looked at each other; it was the first time that any of them had heard Rich really laugh (and mean it) in over three months.

Ratchet slowly sat down next to Petrov. "The sewer shark are really biting..." he said as an added enticement.

Rich chuckled. "When aren't they?"

Petrov laughed at that. "True. Look, you call off the hunt, 'n we promise t' turn ourselves in t' ya on this very spot three days from now. We're not goin' anywhere..." Petrov glanced eastward to the sharking hole. "Other than t' the lake, that is."

Clank circled the campfire and stood next to Rich. Looking up at him, he added, "Based on our planning discussions, I am certain that Nichole would also approve of this."

Rich looked around the campsite and into the faces of his friends. They were all grinning. Ratchet carefully manifested a pair of takeout food containers from Jacek's and slowly placed them on the one of the flat rocks ringing the fire pit. The pteradon package was still pretty hot. "We even gotcha dinner, since ya missed out on the sashimi before."

Petrov muttered, "Wha'd'ya say?"

Rich smiled at Petrov, Ratchet and Clank. He still could not move anything from the neck down, but he could nod and did so. "Thank you," he said in a very quiet voice, filled with gratitude. "I appreciate it. But..." he looked into Petrov's twinkling eyes, his own a little moist, "make it four days..."

[end.]


	20. Microstory: Mortality

**Disclaimers:**

Yes, it is yet another single chapter microstory based on the rest of my Leonid Stories (Homecoming, Relativity, Instincts, Registration and Bait). I wrote the rough plot outline between 5 April and 10 April 2009, and wrote the story text between 11 April and 18 April 2009. This one took a little longer because a) it was more difficult material for me to write technically (more simultaneous characters to deal with) and b) other real life distractions. Of course, I did my traditional four to six proof reads and embellishment edits, but as everyone knows, even the pros never catch every typo. This story takes place approximately seven months after Bait, just under two years after the end of Tools of Destruction.

Recommended reading order: Homecoming; Relativity; Instincts; Registration; Bait; Mortality

All standard disclaimers apply. As always I reserve the right to edit or tweak the text as I see fit and want to improve or correct it. So, for your entertainment... Enjoy!

Note: If you have any specific questions please let me know. I usually respond to PMs, emails or reviews as long as I have a PM or email address to reply back to. Thanks.

* * * * *

**Mortality**

Ratchet hefted his judicator once again and dropped to one knee on the rich green grass and thick loam at the edge of the plaza outside the Azimuth Memorial Museum on New Fastoon. He fired a few rounds from the heavily upgraded weapon and tore the class three drophyd dropship into shreds, the fragments of the engine compartment exploding outward in a blinding fury, raining chunks of molten metal across the open sod. Some of the chunks of the ship struck the surrounding buildings, gouging holes in their stone and metal structure, shattering windows and dislodging the ornamental carvings from their moorings. A trickle of fine powdery glass particles settled down on the lombax and he shook his head to clear the sharp dust from his exposed fur. As he did so, he glimpsed the rising pillar of smoke to his west from the crumbled compound of the Lombax Defense Ministry. The transD control center in Rich's office was one of the first targets destroyed in the attack, and the fire and radioactive glow was still visible even in the bright midmorning sun. Ratchet smiled. Looking around proudly at the destruction and chaos around him, he had to admit that he had outdone himself. This simulation was certainly the best that he and Ember had ever come up with.

None of it was real, of course. Ratchet knew that he was kneeling in the latest annex of the Caliber Holorange and Recreational Facility in region seven. He knew that the buildings, drophyds, radioactive glare, even the grass under his left boot was a projection. But the battle simulation was perfect; an excellent training tool for The Academy as well as an amusing fitness course.

Taking a few moments to admire their work, Ratchet's smile grew even wider. He had been on New Fastoon in the Leonid galaxy for almost two years now and during that time a few of the projects that he sponsored in the Center for Advanced Lombax Research had 'made it big time' as Petrov would say; most notably his fuel additive. From what Clank told him, the royalties that were deposited into his account for that alone were more than Ratchet, Talwyn and Clank combined could ever hope to spend in their lifetimes, so he decided to have a bit of fun with some of those bolts.

Ratchet met with Colonel Ember Caliber and after some rather intense (and silent) negotiations, he funded this latest addition to Caliber's facility; a large domed holopark covering nearly a full sector of region seven. The annex could simulate a battlefield the size of three city blocks including low altitude ground to air combat and had enough shielding to allow Ratchet to finally practice with his RYNO indoors. The structure, nicknamed 'the doom dome' by some of its early visitors, was a marvel of lombax engineering and had cost Ratchet nearly every bolt he had in his private account. It had already begun paying dividends; there was a waiting list to rent the facility and, according to Clank, Ratchet's percentage of the profits had nearly repaid his investment in a mere three months. But the bolts weren't all that important to the lombax.

Colonel Caliber was so happy with the results that he didn't really mind providing the free sessions to the Academy and to the LDM as stipulated in the negotiations. Every day at noon, the dome would close for two hours and the LDM or the Academy, depending on the day, would hold training exercises inside. It certainly was a huge hit with the lombaxes that had seen it so far. And that was merely for the basic drills and recreational simulations.

The dome was also closed for one hour at sunrise; the time dedicated to Ratchet for his personal use and fitness routines. Ratchet had been growing increasingly bored with Petrov's existing courses; obstacles, physical fitness, survival training were okay, but he thought the courses themselves were dull and he knew that they were seen as a mere chore or punishment to the deputies taking them. Ratchet hoped that putting those skills and exercises into a practical context, such as seeing their homeworld under attack and fighting to defend it, might help give the deputies a somewhat different perspective of what those drills were for and why they were so critically important. Plus it would make them a lot more fun.

When Ratchet outlined his ideas to Ember, the retired Colonel smiled. Remembering those fitness courses, Ember thought it was a great idea and his knowledge of both warfare and large scale holosimulation was extensive enough to help Ratchet pull it off. Together they had put together this program; an attack on New Fastoon itself with enough realism and detail to shock even the most jaded deputy. While most of Ratchet's friends knew that the simulation existed, Ratchet, Clank, Talwyn and Colonel Caliber were the only ones that had actually seen it operate. Ratchet was the only lombax to ever test run the course and he did so on a daily basis both for exercise and to try out various elements and strategies. But today was special; today was the first day that someone else would try it for themselves.

Ratchet glanced back over his shoulder. General Petrov Neutrino, retired and serving time on the Lombax Central Council with Ratchet, was running up the street behind him as fast as he could. Petrov was out of breath and as he came to the point where Ratchet was waiting for him, he fell to one knee, winded. Ratchet looked at him a bit concerned as Petrov rested. His adopted father kept himself in pretty good shape; Ratchet had thought the course would be, well, maybe not easy but certainly within his capabilities. It was extremely disconcerting to see him gasping for air like this.

"Are you okay?" Ratchet asked, with his concern evident in his voice? "We can pause this anytime -"

Petrov shook his head and interrupted him, panting out his words as he slowly recovered, "Nah... I'm just... not used... t' all this runnin' around." The old lombax got his breathing under control and met Ratchet's stare. With his own changeable eyes a deep blue color somewhat similar to the sands on Saphria, Petrov forced a grin and continued, "Maybe Reg's right. Maybe I've been eatin' out at Jacek's too much. I didn't realize I was in this bad o' shape." Petrov looked around with a somewhat disgusted look on his face. "If this'd been the real thing, we'd be dead."

"Actually, we'd've had a few squads o' deputies 'n the entire fleet out here," Ratchet corrected. "Plus the satellite defense belt. We wouldn'ta had t' do this alone."

Rather than encouraging Petrov as Ratchet had hoped, the young lombax's words made the general's ears droop even further. Ratchet didn't realize it, but the words brought Petrov back to his conversation with Clank just after he interrogated Ratchet with the BetaTex. Petrov, having seen for himself all of the battles that the lombax and robot had gone through to save three galaxies, had been deeply saddened by the fact that in almost every case, the pair had fought those battles themselves, or with minimal help. Looking out over the simulation, Petrov had to admit he was impressed by Ratchet's and Caliber's work; but watching Ratchet move through it, it was horribly obvious to him that Ratchet was used to dealing with these life and death situations alone, or with only Clank to rely on.

It did not help matters much that the young lombax wasn't even breathing hard. It was almost insulting! Petrov shook his head slightly and muttered, "Come on, Tiny. Admit it. Yer just tryin' t' show off; ya tweaked the difficulty. There's no way ya do this ev'ry morning."

Ratchet looked back at Petrov, his own ears sagging slightly. "Yer right, Petrov," Ratchet said quietly, forcing a grin of his own. "I did." Ratchet turned back to the plaza and sighed slightly. He didn't have the heart to tell Petrov, but he _had_ adjusted the difficulty level - so that the simulation would be easier than normal for the general, not harder.

"Yer right though, Tiny," Petrov said. "This'll be great training fer the deputies. Give 'em a sense o' what's important. Any plans on how t' break it to 'em?"

Ratchet nodded, eyes scanning the plaza for drophyds. There were none that he could see, but that did not mean that they weren't there. "Yeah," Ratchet answered. "I figured I'd invite the Regional Ministers 'n their squad leaders first. I'll prob'bly hafta remind 'em it's not a punishment, so they don't get too defensive. Let 'em explore fer a while, check out the dome before beginning the attack program."

Petrov nodded. "Good call," he said. "Let 'em get comfortable with the idea before droppin' the bomb on 'em." Petrov gave a coughing chuckle. "Literally..."

Ratchet had to grin at that.

"Ya might hafta let 'em watch the first time," Petrov continued. "Let 'em look around 'n send 'em t' off t' watch as ya run through it yerself first. Show 'em how it's done."

Ratchet nodded. He hadn't thought of that. "Good idea."

Petrov coughed and chuckled again. Looking at the young lombax in front of him, Petrov quietly mumbled, "Prob'bly shame 'em into it." Petrov looked across the plaza. "So, what's next?"

"From here, the best option's t' go up the monument, down the zip line 'n into the Museum. Once inside, I can use the prototype dimensionator 'n exile the drophyds to another dimension. Stay here 'n give me a bit o' cover fire. I'll -"

"I'll take the low road," Petrov interrupted, shaking his head and looking across the plaza. "This'll give 'em two dif'rent targets. One of us'll get t' the dimensionator." Petrov stood and took off to his right along the perimeter of the plaza, trying to stay under cover as best as possible and working his way around to the main entrance of the Azimuth Memorial Museum complex directly across from them.

Ratchet swore. This would just make things trickier. He ran straight out from the cover and immediately came under fire from a pair of heavily armed drophyds that had seen Petrov's movements and jumped from a dropship hovering somewhere along one of the side streets to his right. There was a sudden flash of an explosion. Ratchet turned in time to see Petrov knocked off his feet. While Petrov did not feel the full force of a real explosion, the sudden inertial field that toppled him over drew an extremely loud curse from the general, followed by a series of wracking coughs as he fell onto his back on the open grass of the plaza.

"Override!" Ratchet shouted. Immediately, all movement within the simulation ceased as the control system recognized the command word and awaited further instructions. "Petrov!" Ratchet called out as he ran to where Petrov was still lying on the ground, rolling over and gasping for air.

Ratchet reached the lombax and helped him sit up. Petrov was coughing very violently into his glove, struggling to breathe. Ratchet knelt down next to him and looked into his face. "Medical teleport?" Ratchet asked his voice edged with fear. Petrov shook his head firmly 'no', his ears flapping slightly as he did so. Ratchet nodded and waited quietly next to Petrov as the older lombax continued to cough into his glove.

After a few minutes, Petrov was finally able to catch his breath and his coughing slowed down. Still sitting on the grass of the simulated plaza, Petrov drew his knees up, put his hands on them and quietly said to himself, "That sucked." He looked at Ratchet and asked, "What the hell was that?"

Ratchet was relieved to hear him speak, but there was a strange, haunted look in Petrov's eyes that he didn't quite like; they were a very dark blue, almost the color of twilight. Ratchet had never seen them that color before. "It was just a mild inertial field. It was only meant to knock you over from the explosion. There was a dropship over there and they threw a grenade."

Petrov nodded, looking around at the frozen simulation. "I'm gettin' too old fer..." He froze, his eyes fixed on part of the simulation directly in front of him. He coughed a few times into his glove again and then, with his face twisting in a somewhat disgusted grimace, Petrov turned, stared into Ratchet's eyes and said, "Please tell me _that_ wasn't your idea." He angrily gestured across the grass. Lying a few cubits away on the open field of the plaza, right next to a smoldering blast crater, was a holographic simulation of Petrov's body. And while there was no indication of trauma or damage reproduced in the projection, the body was very obviously dead.

Ratchet glanced at it quickly and blushed a bit under his fur. Fortunately, Petrov could not notice it. "Uh, no," he replied. "That was Ember. He thought it might be, uh, 'motivational' if a deputy killed in the simulation saw their own body."

Petrov still had that look on his face. "He's right," he muttered.

Ratchet stood and offered his hand to Petrov to help him up when he noticed something. "Petrov, are you sure you're okay? There's blood on your uniform."

Petrov looked at himself surprised. But Ratchet was right; there was a smear of dried blood on his right knee and what might have been tiny droplets on his shirt. Petrov's ears drooped a bit more and he avoided Ratchet's eyes. "I'm fine," he said firmly. "Tell ya what. I'm done fer today. I'm gonna go home, take a really hot hydroshower 'n I'll meet ya in the council chamber later."

Ratchet was a little concerned at the firm but strangely distant tone of Petrov's voice, but slowly said, "Okay." Looking around at the simulation, Ratchet said, "Command: Open the door." The buildings facing the plaza to his right vanished, replaced by the shimmering crystal curtain of the holoprojection matrix. Within a gap in the matrix, the exit to the holosuite opened leading to the offline facilities. Along the outside perimeter of the dome were a series of lockers, teleporters, public restrooms and hydroshowers, along with a wide array of service providers and even a snack bar and luxury observation seating area for those watching the action. He offered his hand to Petrov again.

"Nah," Petrov said, shrugging off the gesture and slowly climbing to his feet unaided. With his eyes still locked on the simulation of his own body lying on the ground, he quietly said, "You go ahead. I'll meetcha."

Ratchet could not get over the feeling that something was very wrong. Looking carefully at Petrov, he asked again, "Are you sure you're alright?"

Petrov looked angrily at Ratchet. His eyes were the dark blue of twilight and narrowed in a scowl. Petrov's fur bristled slightly as he growled at the younger lombax.

Ratchet backed away and raised his hands into the air. "Okay... Yer fine. I'll see ya later." With a worried glance back at Petrov, he walked through the open door to the bank of teleporters just beyond it.

Petrov watched him go. But as soon as Ratchet teleported, he started to lower himself back down to the grass. When he began moving, his coughing returned. Petrov automatically used his gloved right hand to shield his muzzle. Once the coughing fit subsided, he stared down once again at the simulation of his own body lying in front of him. Then, his eyes darkening even further to an almost midnight black, he looked very carefully at the palm of his right glove. There were flecks of fresh blood on it.

* * * * *

Ratchet fidgeted a little uncomfortably in his heavy, backless chair at the massive thorntree wood table of the Lombax Central Council. His discomfort was not caused by the chair; Ratchet had deliberately removed the back supports so as not to injure Clank when the robot rode on the connecting bolt of his backpack straps, as he was right now. Nor was it caused by the occasional glances and stares of the other councilors around the table. It was not even Spiff's endless droning about some budget matter. Ratchet seemed to be looking at Spiff right now, pretending to pay attention, but his gaze was really locked on the single unoccupied chair between them. Petrov's chair. Empty.

Ratchet had tried to contact Petrov a few times between when he left him at Caliber's place and the council meeting. Petrov had not answered. The feeling of apprehension that Ratchet noticed this morning had only grown deeper. And now Petrov didn't show up for the council meeting. Ratchet could not remember a single time when Petrov missed a session like this. Something was very wrong. And he could not sit still waiting while Petrov could be in trouble.

There were three mild shocks on his back. It startled him slightly, but Clank was letting him know that he had to pay attention.

Ratchet shifted his gaze and looked up to Spiff. The unofficial leader of the council * smiled sarcastically at Ratchet and said, "Nice to see that we have your attention, Minister Ratchet. Especially since it's your additive we are discussing."

(* - There was never any vote or any word spoken, but the other lombaxes, including Ratchet and Petrov, recognized Spiff's natural talent for legal and administrative detail and allowed him to lead the council sessions. With the exception of special agenda items proposed by individual members, Spiff conducted all of the routine meetings. This suited the other council members just fine; they did not want to be bothered with the administrative aspects of the LCC any more than necessary. And Spiff was happy, not with the role or recognition, but merely that it was being done 'properly'.)

"Huh?" Ratchet muttered. He saw Spiff's eyes narrow slightly and noticed the ears of a few of the lombaxes around the table droop a bit. They knew what was coming... "Sorry. Where were we?" There was a low groan around the table.

Spiff's voice was as even and emotionless as ever, but the droop in his ears as well betrayed his frustration at having to repeat the last five minutes of the discussion. "We were talking about making modifications to the Fleet," he said. "Aphelion's demonstration a few months ago proved that she could easily outrun and outmaneuver anything in the lombax arsenal. That fuel additive, combined with some of your more creative mods, provided a significant tactical advantage. We were talking about retrofitting the Fleet to install additive injectors and thruster modifications to enhance their performance as well."

"Oh," Ratchet said dully. "Yeah. Sounds good." He returned his stare to Petrov's empty chair.

Spiff shook his head slightly, noticing Ratchet drifting away again. "It should sound good," he said. "Especially considering that you, personally, stand to make a ton of bolts on the deal. I am a little surprised you are not in the least bit interested."

"Hmm?" Ratchet grunted. "Oh, yeah. Right."

Minister Phage, an older and somewhat obese lombax physician sitting three places to Ratchet's left, stared at Ratchet concerned. "Ratchet, are you alright?"

The tone in his voice got Ratchet's attention. He looked over and said, "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just worried about Petrov. This isn't like him. He told me he'd meet me here. Somethin's wrong."

Spiff looked at Ratchet and calmly acknowledged, "It is unusual, I agree." Spiff's voice was the same flat tone that he used any time he was in public. But there was something about his eyes that mirrored a touch of Ratchet's concern. The minister continued, "But that chair had been vacant for years before Minister Neutrino was captured and forced to wear a tracer. It is not something that should detract from the business at hand." Ratchet suddenly looked up at him. Spiff continued, "We will be done in a few hours. After that, you can hunt for him all you wish."

Spiff looked out at the other councilors and continued his presentation. "I recommend we retrofit the chi and psi class fighters first. Because they are sentient, they will appreciate the modifications and be able to give their feedback on any adjustments that need to be made. I have also recalled the senior engineering teams from The Hammer, The Wrench and The Circuit to discuss rollout plans for their flagships. They should be arriving today..."

There was more, but Ratchet's mind was elsewhere. Spiff's comment raised an important point - Petrov would still be wearing the tracer! Rich would know where he was!

Ratchet interrupted Spiff, blurting out, "Why d' ya need me fer this? I can't vote 'cause it's my additive, right?"

Spiff met his gaze and calmly acknowledged, "That is correct. You cannot vote on anything that would involve personal gain."

Ratchet stood and moved toward the door. "I need t' find Petrov."

Spiff shook his head. Standing himself, he positioned himself between Ratchet and the door. Calmly, he tried to explain, "We still need you here for the discussion. There are significant financial and budgetary concerns that we need to work through. Since you will be both funding the retrofit of the Fleet from your personal account and also receiving a royalty from the work, it is critical that you understand the implications of this."

Ratchet shook his head slightly. At this point, the only thing the lombax could focus on was finding Petrov. These financial matters were meaningless to him. He never understood any of it anyway. Very quietly, Ratchet said, "You don't need me fer that."

Ratchet felt two moderate shocks on his back; Clank's indication to vote 'no'.

Spiff shook his head, his eyes betraying a bit of sadness and pity, but his voice unwavering. "These financial matters are very complex; they may evolve into irrational expense calculations. We need you here to validate these, especially if they go into complex accounting and imaginary budgets."

Ratchet shook his head. "No, you don't."

There were two more shocks on Ratchet's back. They were a lot stronger than the last two.

Ratchet looked at Petrov's empty chair. Very quietly, he admitted, "I don't know anything about irrational whatsits or delusional budget thingies..."

Clank zapped Ratchet two more times on his back. The electrical level was significantly higher than before, enough to make the lombax wince.

Spiff looked into Ratchet's eyes. "We know," he said quietly.

Ratchet felt two more shocks, so strong that he felt as though he had been hit in the back with a shock ravenger. The lombax let out an involuntary yelp and then muttered, "Gimme a minute..."

There was a murmur around the council table as Ratchet threw up a small, sensory distorting force field around himself and Clank. In the shell of privacy they now had, Ratchet asked, "Clank, what's wrong?"

Clank, still attached to the connecting bolt answered, "Ratchet, I believe I know what you are about to suggest. I do not wish to do that."

Ratchet looked over his shoulder, his eyes a bit puzzled. "But you 'n Spiff're the only ones that know this stuff. They all know that. It's no big deal."

"Ratchet," Clank explained, "I have no desire to be officially recognized by the council."

"Why not?" Ratchet asked, somewhat taken aback. Ratchet thought for a second and a somewhat sad thought came to him. "They're not ... robophobes," he could barely say the word and his face twisted as he practically spat it out. Just as there were some robotic life forms, like Doctor Nefarious, that were prejudiced against organics, or 'squishies' as they called them, there were also some organics that held similar views against 'toasters', their word for robotics. "Are they?" he concluded weakly with a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"No, Ratchet," Clank replied. From his position on the connecting bolt, Clank could feel the muscles in Ratchet's back relax slightly, relieved. "It is nothing like that. I have, however, seen the significant cost to your personal freedom that you and Petrov have been required to pay. I have no desire to be officially recognized by the council, or to have such a tracking device implanted into my systems."

Ratchet nodded, still somewhat relieved that Clank's concerns were nothing more serious than this. "I can't blame ya," Ratchet replied. Then he continued in a much more determined voice, "but I promise if they ever tried it, I'd remove it myself. Then you, me 'n Talwyn would be outta here fer good!" Ratchet's voice dropped somewhat lower as he pleaded with the robot. "Petrov's in trouble. This isn't like him... I know it. Can't ya feel it?"

Clank paused. He _could_ 'feel it'. It was extremely strange, but just as he instinctively responded to Ratchet and Talwyn when they informed him of their bonding or when he realized that he and Ratchet needed to go to Reepor to exile the Cragmites, there was some part of him deep within his kernel that _knew_. With absolute certainty. Something _was_ very wrong. And Clank also knew that Ratchet would be unable to focus on anything else until he investigated for himself.

Clank created a reminder to once again attempt to track down this anomaly, this unusual intuitive aspect of his nature that had always been there, but had been growing significantly more pronounced throughout his friendship with Ratchet. As he set the reminder event, Clank suddenly recalled his encounter with the Zoni, the 'Clank' energy being and how some of the data from that momentary interface overflowed his buffers and evaded his security protocols... Interesting. But such diagnostics would need to wait until he had the leisure to study this phenomenon in greater detail.

Clank dropped from the connecting bolt and stood next to Ratchet. Looking up into the lombax's eyes, Clank admitted, "Yes, Ratchet. I do feel it also." The robot's voice became slightly heavier. "Very well. You should proceed to locate Petrov as quickly as possible. I will remain here and conclude our business with the council."

A relieved smile crept across Ratchet's face. Kneeling down in front of his friend, he offered his fist and said, "Thanks, Clank." Clank wordlessly butted his fist against Ratchet's. "I owe ya one," the lombax continued. "I swear I'll make it up t' ya."

Ratchet stood again and lowered the force field. The assembled councilors hushed in anticipation as Spiff looked curiously at Ratchet and Clank. Ratchet met Spiff's gaze. "I hafta go," he said quietly.

In a loud voice, Clank continued, addressing Spiff primarily, but making certain that the entire council heard his words. "I am fully capable of acting as Ratchet's personal financial advisor in this matter and I will be able to provide testimony or answer any questions you may have regarding Ratchet's accounts." Looking over to Spiff, Clank returned to his normal tone and asked, "Is this sufficient?"

Spiff smiled at Clank, rather gratefully. "Indeed it is, Clank. Thank you."

Clank climbed onto Ratchet's chair at the council table. Only his antenna was visible over the high thorntree wood table. Clank scrambled on the arm rest; the added height brought his eyes level with the top of the table and Clank could see the other ministers looking at him. There was a great deal of relief on their faces and their ears were slightly perked.

Ratchet turned to him. "Thanks again, Clank," he said. "I'll letcha know when I find Petrov." The lombax walked around Spiff to the door.

As Ratchet put his hand on the control, Spiff called out to him, "Ratchet?" The lombax turned to Spiff curiously. Spiff's voice was carefully neutral, but the concern in his eyes was unmistakable. "Good luck."

Ratchet nodded, quietly mumbled, "Thanks," and left the council chamber. The on duty deputy closed the door behind him.

Spiff turned to look at Clank, standing on Ratchet's chair. "Ratchet's got talents," Spiff began, "but accounting is not one of them. I, personally, would like to thank you for your assistance in these matters over the last two years. I am sure the council would as well."

Clank shook his head slightly. "I am merely Ratchet's personal financial advisor. Ratchet is the one who has been voting on the matters to which you refer."

Spiff nodded. He recognized that, for whatever reason, Clank did not want to be involved any further. "Of course..." he said with a slight smile and nod in Clank's direction. Looking up at the councilors, he spoke in his carefully neutral voice, "Shall we continue?"

* * * * *

Ratchet left the council chamber and did not even notice as the on duty deputy closed the door behind him. He leapt over the desk and ran over to the lockers behind it. Placing his gloved right hand on the biometric scanner, the force field over his manifestor deactivated. Ratchet grabbed at it and fit it onto his glove, his mind wandering for a second as to how the biometric device knew that it was him, given that pretty much everyone wore gloves, before focusing once again on the task at hand.

The on duty deputy gave Ratchet a somewhat curious look as the lombax dashed over to the recently upgraded and redesigned teleporter pad. Ratchet forced a smile and waved slightly as he thought of the regional office of the Lombax Defense Ministry compound in region nine. The scanner arms shot up around him and he vanished in a flash of energy.

Ratchet materialized in the main building of the regional ministry office. Standing in the center of the room, Ratchet slowly turned in a small circle, taking in all of the details of the open space. Regional Minister Rich Quantum was nowhere to be seen. Other than the bunk in one alcove having been moved across the room and swapped with the beverage dispenser and food preparation station in another, very little had changed about office since he had last been here. Rich's desk was still covered with nearly a dozen different display pads and there was an open box of Stylus Shavings with a small scattering of the dry cereal on a plate to left of a tall flask of water.

While Ratchet was still very worried about Petrov, he could not help but smile at what he found. The bunk in its new alcove was completely in the shadows, out of the morning sun. There was a fine layer of dust on the blankets and it looked as though the bunk had not been used in several months.

The regional minister had snapped out of his rut after Ratchet, Clank and Petrov successfully captured him and forced him to take an extended vacation. Rich slept soundly that first evening, snoring all the while; he explained later that it was the first time in months he had slept through without waking up in the middle of the night. As Rich relaxed, he began to enjoy himself: helping Ratchet as backup when Petrov went sharking, sitting by the campfires with Clank, listening to the boasting stories and banter between Cronk and Zephyr or just sitting beneath one of the trees, staring up at the iridescent leaves above him with a smile on his face. Most importantly, he and Petrov had a few rather long talks, putting Rich more at ease with his role in the LDM and giving him a sense of perspective about what was really important.

Things were going so well that everyone was startled when Nichole arrived in the campsite five days later. They had lost track of time and Nichole wanted to make sure that everything was alright. When Ratchet and Petrov saw the look in Nichole's eyes when she saw Rich, they grinned at each other and wordlessly began to break camp. As Nichole took Rich for a stroll by the lake, Clank, Ratchet and Petrov packed three of the insta-shelters back into their portable containers while the warbots gathered some additional branches as fuel for the fire. When they got back from their walk, everyone acted completely surprised (as is traditional) when Rich and Nichole announced that they had bonded. Nichole took one look at the single remaining insta-shelter and began laughing, realizing that she and Rich were probably the last ones to realize it. Ratchet and Petrov officially 'surrendered' to Rich, locked the tracers on their ankles without any fuss and returned to the council. Zephyr and Cronk returned to their apartment in the Academy, while Clank decided to spend a few days with Venus in Metropolis.

Rich and Nichole spent a few days at the campsite before leaving for their neobond trip to Saphria. Clank, Ratchet and Petrov had treated them to a weeklong vacation there and Aphelion volunteered to take them. They were both extremely happy when they got back to New Fastoon, but Aphelion was rather upset by the experience. When Ratchet asked what happened, she was very reluctant to provided details, saying only in a rather embarrassed voice that Ratchet and Talwyn were significantly better behaved on their return journey and mumbling that she would never do that again. No matter how much the laughing lombax pried, she would not say anything more to him about it. She did, however, spend an inordinate amount of time in the Region Nine Space Center detail shop getting a full interior cleaning.

Ratchet waited for about five minutes, but when Rich did not show up, he opened his comm link. Rich answered immediately; he was outside doing some target practice. Ratchet left the main office, circling the building until he saw Rich. The regional minister was rapidly firing with his combustor on the practice range. Ratchet noticed the size and distance of the targets he was shooting at and the precision of his hits; Rich truly was a marksman with his combustor, even better than Ratchet was. Thinking back, Ratchet grinned as he remembered the first time he had seen Rich shoot. Sadly, he was the target at the time.

"Rich!" Ratchet called out when the other lombax had finished the target round and lowered his weapon.

Rich turned to him, smiled and returned his combustor to his manifestor with his neural matrix. Al had completed the latest set of requests and Clank had brought them back after his last visit with Venus; now most of the people close to Ratchet had one, except for Nicholas. Ratchet still had Nick's cap in his manifestor, but Petrov's son was stationed on one of the LDM's flagships and he had not been to New Fastoon since Ratchet had moved there. Nicholas had asked that Ratchet hang onto it until he could pick it up in person. Meanwhile, word was still spreading about Al's creations; the list of requests was growing longer (now it was Jacek Calorimeter, Deputy Resonance, Ember Caliber, Minister Phage, Jaz Parallax and a few others) and Petrov asked Al to come up with a pricing guide, reiterating his offer to help the engineer open a shop in Leonid. With all the exposure he was getting, Al was starting to seriously consider it. "Ratchet! Good to see you!" Rich moved away from the range and they met halfway in the courtyard. Ratchet shook Rich's offered hand. "What brings you down here?"

"Actually, it's Petrov," Ratchet explained. He would have welcomed the opportunity to visit for a while, maybe get a combustor lesson from Rich, but he felt as though he did not have time. "Do you know where he is?"

Rich started laughing, shaking his head. With a grin on his face he started to say, "That's funny! You of all people asking me where..." Rich's laughter died when he saw the look on Ratchet's face. His expression and his voice sobering in an instant, the regional minister asked, "What happened?"

"He didn't show up fer the council meeting today 'n he was actin' funny this morning," Ratchet quickly explained. "He's not answering his comm link either. Something's wrong."

Rich nodded. He recognized that this was unlike Petrov as well and understood the implications of that. "Follow me," he said, leading Ratchet back into the office. Once inside, Rich went directly to his desk, pulled out one of the display tablets from its surface seemingly at random, glanced at its contents and started reading the logs displayed there.

Ratchet was intrigued about Rich's actions. "You mean you have a tablet open for each of us, with our locations at all times?" he asked in a mockingly horrified voice.

Rich glanced up and smiled at Ratchet. "Mostly, yes." His smile grew playful. "But I have three dedicated just for you..." Rich went back to reading.

Ratchet looked at the desk and counted the display tablets. There were ten on the desk, with one in Rich's hand. There very well could have been three with his name on them...

Rich's ears drooped and he sat down at the desk. "According to this," Rich began, "he's in the Region Nine Med Center." Ratchet's ears and tail plummeted, as though his worst fears had been confirmed. Rich shook his head and said, "It might be nothing, Ratchet. He's inside Nichole's office. Maybe he just wanted to see her."

Ratchet shook his head. That sick feeling in his stomach was starting to come back, only worse. "I don't think so," Ratchet said heavily. "I've got a bad feeling about this." Then Ratchet remembered Petrov's coughing. How he refused to let Ratchet take his hand and help him up. The smeared blood on his knee... Ratchet's eyes opened wide with horror.

Rich was watching his face and knew that Ratchet just thought of something; something not good. "What?" he asked.

A teleporter pad materialized in the center of the room. Ratchet ran for it and shouted at the device, "Doctor Nichole Neutrino's office." The scanner arms shot up as normal and there was a flash of energy, but Ratchet had not moved from the pad. In a near panic, Ratchet shouted at the device a second time, but still did not teleport.

"Ratchet! Calm down!" Rich shouted at him, pulling him off the pad. The lombax's eyes were a little wild, but Ratchet looked at him. "What is it? Talk to me!"

"Petrov was coughing this morning, during the exercise run." Ratchet was speaking in a voice as though he was pronouncing Petrov's death sentence. "He was coughing up blood."

Rich was shocked by this news. Yes, it was serious, but no more serious than Ratchet wandering around loose in this state. He nodded. "Okay. Calm down. Petrov's in the doctor's office. He's not in any immediate danger. Just cool off for a moment. We'll figure out what's wrong. Okay?"

Ratchet nodded and Rich led him to the bunk in the side alcove. The both sat on it. Rich tried to reach Nichole over the comm link but there was no answer. He then started working on the display pad in his hand. After a few minutes he started nodding. "Okay. That's why you couldn't teleport. There's a force field around her office. That's pretty normal, actually; when she's examining a patient, she'll do that to give 'em a little privacy. Those glass doors and windows are pretty intimidating."

Meanwhile, Ratchet had recovered from his initial shock and was starting to think a bit more rationally. He couldn't teleport through the field, but he could teleport outside it. "Where does the field end?" he asked.

Rich looked at Ratchet, relieved that he was calming down and that his eyes were clear. He nodded and checked the display pad. "It extends right to the door of her office. You could teleport outside into the hallway."

Ratchet looked at Rich, grateful for his help. "Thanks, Rich. Sorry. I'm okay now. I'm gonna go t' Nichole's office 'n find out what's goin' on." Ratchet stood and walked to the teleporter pad.

Rich called out as Ratchet stepped onto the pad, "Why the panic?"

Ratchet looked back, stared into Rich's eyes and quietly said, "This is how it started with my parents on Veldin." The scanner arms shot up and Ratchet vanished in a flash of energy.

* * * * *

Ratchet stood in the hallway of the administrative floor of the Region Nine Med Center. Looking down the corridor, he saw the offices of the various medical staff that worked in the facility along with storerooms and maintenance stations for the diagnostic bots in the complex. At the very end of the corridor was Nichole's office. Ratchet walked up to it, reading once again her name and title, etched on the heavy floor to ceiling glass doors. Nichole was the Executive Director for the complex and she ran the entire region nine medical center with the sheer power of her boundless energy. She was only a few centicubits taller than Ratchet, making her a bit on the short side for a lombax, but there was no one in the complex that would ever question her authority or her skill as a doctor.

Ratchet peered through the glass doors, but could only see the shimmering orange glow of a sensory distorting force field just beyond. Giving up on trying to see passed the field, he tried to contact Petrov with his comm link again. Still no reply. He tried to reach Nichole. Nothing. Finally, Ratchet decided to go for the old fashioned approach. He walked right up to the glass door and knocked.

Ratchet's comm link chimed and he answered it automatically with his neural matrix.

"Ratchet?" Nichole's voice sounded inside his head. She was talking very quickly, but that was pretty normal for her. "Nichole. We see you. We're kinda busy right now. Just go down the hall; there's a waiting room off to your right. Have a seat; I'll fill you in when we're done. Don't worry, it's just GBD. Nicholas is on his way. Let'm know when he gets here. Thanks."

There was a sudden click as the link disconnected. Ratchet knew they could see him, so he nodded deeply, waved slightly and moved slowly down the hall, his ears and tail low. He didn't even have the chance to utter a single word, or to ask what GBD was.

* * * * *

Clank stood tirelessly on the arm rest of Ratchet's chair in the council chamber. For the past hour, he had been listening to Spiff outline the details of the Fleet enhancement, the schedules for the various ships and the projected costs of the retrofit. The budgeting for this activity was extremely complex, but nothing that Clank had not already seen from his days working for Megacorp. Clank also noted that due to the royalties involved, Ratchet would personally make a significant amount of bolts directly from the council's actions, along with ancillary income from both support ships and private spacecraft seeking to keep up with the standards imposed by the lombax fleet.

When he had finally finished, Spiff looked around at the dazed looks on the faces of the other lombaxes present. His ears drooped slightly; he knew that he was the only lombax in the room that understood these concepts and it was sometimes rather frustrating. Spiff's ears perked back up as he turned to Clank. "So, Clank," he began, a smile starting to form on his muzzle, "what would 'Ratchet' have to say about all of this?"

Clank chuckled slightly at the game and was somewhat grateful that Spiff was willing to play along in this manner. "If Ratchet were here," he began, addressing the councilors around the table, making eye contact with each in turn, "he would comment that these enhancements are a necessary strategic upgrade to the Lombax Fleet and that they are in the general interest of the lombax people. He would say that he has validated Minister Gaiden's calculations and would recommend implementing this plan as soon as possible, with an emphasis on upgrading the sentient fighters as well as the flagships first, as proposed. Ratchet would recommend that all of the ships in the fleet, including the support vessels and auxiliary craft be updated as soon as it is practical to do so."

Clank then turned to Spiff. "In addition," he said, "Ratchet would express his discomfort with the personal gain he might obtain from any endeavor involving the security of the lombax nation. He would recommend that all royalties or payment due him from these enhancements be waived, with the proceeds that would have been payable used to expedite the upgrades. He would stipulate, however, that any future construction in the fleet or non-strategic public or private spacecraft continue to pay their royalties as normal."

Spiff's smile grew even wider and he nodded his head in approval. "That's mighty generous of 'Ratchet'..." Spiff said, again emphasizing Ratchet's name. "Is that really what he would say?"

Clank chuckled. "I must admit that Ratchet would probably not use those specific words. But his intention would be the same, once I advised him about the nature of the incoming revenue."

Spiff shook his head, chuckling quietly to himself. "Why don't you just admit it, Clank?" he asked.

Clank tilted his head slightly to the side, looking at Spiff innocently. "I am merely Ratchet's personal financial advisor."

Spiff's grin widened a bit. "Clank, we all know that you are the one behind the budget votes. Possibly others as well. Why don't you want to be recognized by the council?"

Clank's eyes brightened slightly and he responded to Spiff once again, "I am merely Ratchet's personal financial advisor. I assist him in understanding financial matters, nothing more." His gazed shifted to Spiff's tracer visible only as a bulge under the lombax's impeccably pressed pinstripe slacks. "And I have observed the price of such recognition securely fastened around the ankles of those present."

Spiff's eyes widened. He glanced down at his tracer and nodded. "I understand," he quietly said.

Turning back to the lombaxes around the council table, he addressed the other members present. "Item four eight three, paragraph 'a'... Those approving?" At first, only Spiff's hand was raised. The other lombaxes around the table stared at Clank, each with a question in his or her eyes. Clank nodded slightly. With a few thankful looks and nods in Clank's direction, each of the other lombaxes raised their hands as well. Spiff smiled again and looked at Clank. "Unanimous, seven in favor with two missing. Approved."

There was a slight cheer around the table, along with a few mumbled "Thanks, Clank"s as well. Spiff looked at the councilors. "That is all that we have scheduled for today. Does anyone have anything they would like to add?"

"If I may address the council," Clank requested.

All eyes turned to him. Spiff looked at him a little shocked, especially given Clank's desire to remain clear of the matter. "Go ahead, Clank."

"Thank you, Minister," Clank began, his voice clearly addressing the council, but keeping his eyes firmly on Spiff. "It is my understanding that the tracers were initially proposed by Minister Gaiden to prevent the escape of Minister Petrov Neutrino and, to some extent, to punish him for his evasion of duty. Is this correct?" Clank paused and Spiff nodded.

Clank nodded in return and continued, "It is also my understanding that Minister Neutrino retaliated, requiring that the tracers be worn equally by all members of the Lombax Central Council. Is this also correct?" Clank paused again. Spiff nodded once more, glancing down at his tracer. There was a slight grumble around the table.

Looking straight into Spiff's eyes, Clank continued, "Have these two objectives not already been accomplished to your mutual satisfaction?" The lombaxes around the table silenced immediately. All eyes fixed on the tiny robot standing on the arm of Ratchet's chair. "Is there any reason that I am unaware of for you to continue to maintain this policy?"

The room was silent. The lombaxes around the table shifted their gazes uncomfortably, looking at Clank, their own tracers and each other. Spiff, normally proficient at showing little or no emotion, especially in a public setting, stood with his jaw slightly open, staring at Clank in utter shock. Clank noted that the lombax was blushing in infrared.

Clank's communicator chimed. "Please excuse me for a moment," he said to the councilors. None of them had moved a millicubit since Clank's comments. Spiff slowly sat down in his chair, his right hand reaching down to rub his suddenly itchy ankle.

"Yes, Ratchet." "I understand." "Please try to remain calm. I will join you as soon as I can." "Thank you."

Clank dropped the link and looked at the members of the Lombax Central Council. "I believe that I have completed Ratchet's business here." He glanced at Spiff and the lombax nodded automatically, still stunned. "If you will excuse me, I will go." Looking up at Spiff once more, Clank added in a quieter voice, "Petrov is the medical center. He has been diagnosed with GBD. I will update you when I have more information available."

Spiff's eyes widened slightly at the news. Then he nodded, quietly saying, "Thanks, Clank."

Clank activated his helipack upgrade. He glided down from the chair, walked slowly to door and used the upgrade once again to lift himself to an altitude where he could activate the mechanism unassisted. Clank exited the council chamber and the on duty deputy closed the door behind him.

* * * * *

Ratchet walked down the corridor and turned right at the first open archway he found. Inside was a cluster of rather uncomfortable looking polymer chairs, an overstuffed couch that had seen better days and a small table scattered with various disposable display pads and outdated tabloids. Just inside the archway was a small shelf holding a stack of single use degradable flasks, a public hydrofountain and a rather overworked looking sludge machine. Directly across from the opening of the rather small room was a floor to ceiling window overlooking the streets of New Fastoon. Ratchet moved to the window and stared out at the scene below him, not really seeing the movement of the lombaxes on the pedways, nor registering the patterns in the air traffic surrounding the building.

Ratchet didn't know how long he stood there, but after an indeterminate period of time, he heard a quiet voice behind him. "Hey."

Ratchet grunted, "Hey," in return and then slowly turned to face the lombax behind him. It _had_ to be Nicholas. The lombax behind him was a few centicubits taller than Ratchet, had a fairly thin build and green eyes that were the deep color of forest leaves in the shade. Most striking of all was that he physically looked almost identical to Nichole.

"Nick?" Ratchet asked, almost certain of the lombax's identity, but still wanting to make sure.

"Yeah," Nick said with a hint of a sad smile on his face. He offered his hand to Ratchet and Ratchet shook it. Nick had a very strong grip, but did not pump his arm up and down as his sister would have. Nick looked around the room. "Not where I woulda picked t' meet," he said, stating the obvious.

Ratchet grinned slightly, nodding. "Yeah, I know."

Nick put his hand on Ratchet's shoulder and pulled him toward the couch. Nick sat down, wedged himself in one corner, stretched his leg and knee over an extra cushion and placed his arm along the backrest. He gestured for Ratchet to sit down and join him in the remaining space at the other end of the couch. Ratchet sat down and stared into Petrov's son's eyes. He knew that, like Petrov's and Nichole's, they would change based on his mood. They were still fairly dark, but they had a strange peaceful light in them; not the energetic twinkle that Nichole's had, but a low, steady gleam that was as solid and dependable as a navigational beacon. "He'll be okay," Nick said with an absolute certainty.

"Nichole said he had GBD," Ratchet began, speaking in a fast, worried tone. "She wouldn't let me in t' see him, they won't answer..."

Nick nodded and Ratchet's voice trailed off. But even as Ratchet watched, Nick's eyes grew lighter, as though there was a glint of sunlight in those forest leaves. Nick drew a deep breath and slowly let it out, visibly relaxing on the couch with the edges of his muzzle curling up into a slight smile. Just as Nichole's high energy was infectious to all of those around her, Nick radiated a calm competence that began to put Ratchet at ease. "I guess Nikki didn't tell ya what GBD was, huh?"

Ratchet shook his head 'no'.

"GBD's Genetic Breakdown Disease," Nick slowly explained. "It's basically a mutation. Some cells go rogue... start multiplying... spreading..."

Ratchet leapt off of the couch and moved to stare out the window again. It was his worst fear confirmed. It wasn't fair. In his frustration, Ratchet punched angrily at the glass window with all his strength. He did not break through, but merely produced a hollow drumlike noise. And also really hurt his hand.

Nick looked up at him and sighed. "Ratchet," he said softly. "It's no big deal."

Ratchet turned to look at Nick, only to find the lombax staring up at him from where he lounged on the couch. A puzzled look slowly filled Ratchet's eyes.

Nick gestured for Ratchet to sit on the couch again. Shaking his head slightly, Ratchet complied. Just like his sister, he had that same commanding presence; no wonder he was the lead engineer for The Wrench.

Once Ratchet was seated again, Nick shook his head slightly. "That hadta hurt."

Ratchet grinned slightly. "A little." He wasn't in the mood for laughing, but Nick always brought it out in him.

Nick grinned slightly and continued his explanation. "GBD's kinda common. The good thing is it's treatable. Sis'll rig a filter 'n do surgery. He'll be fine."

Filter? "You mean teleporter filter surgery?" Ratchet asked, already very familiar with the concept.

"Yeah," Nick replied. "Sis told me about yer escape. Same thing. Ya program based on genetic variance 'n teleport. The rogues're left behind."

Ratchet's eyes took a somewhat sad and distant look. In a very quiet voice, he asked, "That's all?"

"Yeah. Pretty harmless." Nick glanced toward the archway and Ratchet's eyes were drawn there as well. Down the hallway, they could still see Nichole's office and the slight orange shimmer of the force field. "She's one o' the best," Nick said, pride evident in his voice.

"It sounds too easy," Ratchet said skeptically.

Nick's eyes took on a tiny bit of grey. "Why?" he asked.

Ratchet tore his eyes away from Nick's. They drifted to the floor at their feet. Very quietly, Ratchet muttered, "My parents died of GBD."

Nick's ears twitched slightly in surprise. His head tilted a little to his right as he looked at Ratchet. "Didn't they catch it?" he asked.

"We didn't have filter technology on Veldin," Ratchet answer.

Nick thought about that for a few long minutes. GBD was not uncommon and though there were many different kinds and environmental factors, it was almost never fatal. At least not in Leonid. Or Polaris for that matter. But he knew enough about medicine from his sister to know the kind of havoc GBD would cause if left untreated. His ears drooped as he realized how horrible it must have been. Very gently, he leaned forward and put his hand on Ratchet's shoulder. At his touch, Ratchet startled slightly and looked into Nick's compassionate moss green eyes. "How old were they?" he asked.

"Thirty four," Ratchet answered.

The age caught Nicholas completely by surprise. That was far too young... "How old were you?"

Ratchet didn't answer for a moment, but then finally whispered, "Nine."

Nicholas closed his eyes for a moment, then adjusted himself on the couch to sit upright next to Ratchet. Still with his hand on Ratchet's shoulder, Nick quietly said, "Sorry..."

* * * * *

Ratchet and Nicholas sat in the waiting room for a while in silence. Ratchet's thoughts bounced back and forth between two different dimensions and a span of nearly twenty years. He was so young then. They didn't have the technology. He wrote a filter to leave the tracers behind. Petrov was still in that office. But no matter how he looked at the situation, Ratchet came back to the same grim realization: either his foster parents on Veldin had died needlessly when there was a way he could have cured them, or Petrov was doomed to the same fate that they had suffered.

Nicholas sat next to Ratchet, hand still on his shoulder, staring into his downturned face. Nick knew that the other lombax was both worried and scared for his dad, but Nick could tell that there was much more to this. Ratchet would need time to work through it, but he also needed a bit more; both information and support. A thought came to Nick and a smile formed on his muzzle. At least one of these he could plan for and provide. The other was down the hall and would join them when she could.

Nicholas noticed the force field around Nichole's office wink out. He looked up sharply at the archway. Ratchet, lost in his dark thoughts, did not notice at first. Nichole left her office, alone, and walked down the corridor towards them. Nick sat up, nudging Ratchet on the side as he did so. Ratchet looked up and saw Nichole as well, stood and waited by the arch, ready to ambush her the moment she walked passed.

There was no need; Nichole went straight for them. "Ratchet. Nicholas," she said in greeting.

"Hey, sis," Nick replied.

"How is he?" Ratchet blurted out.

"Relax," Nichole told Ratchet, grabbing him by the sides and holding him at arm's length. Here eyes were the color of an overcast forest, dark and serious, but not grim. "Dad will be fine."

Ratchet felt his legs weaken a little and he lowered himself back to the couch. Nichole grabbed one of the polymer chairs and dragged it over; the metal legs of the chair grating against the smooth surface of the floor. Sitting in front of the two males on the couch, she began to explain what was going on.

"I moved dad to a treatment room. We've gotta get the nanotech out of his system before we -."

Ratchet looked up a bit surprised at that. "Why?" he interrupted.

Nichole glanced at Nick and their gazes locked. "Ratchet prob'bly thinks he coulda built a filter outta spare parts back on Veldin," Nick gently said. Ratchet looked up at him in shock. How could he have possibly known what he was thinking.

Nichole's eyes widened slightly and her muzzle split into a tiny, sad smile. She nodded her understanding. "Ratchet," she said, her normally quick energetic voice deliberately slowed to help the lombax understand, "a teleporter filter is only part of the treatment. There is a lot more to it. And you need specialized equipment." Nichole looked into Ratchet's eyes. "It took over five decades of research in the CALR to come up with the procedure. Only a few dozen lombaxes on New Fastoon, and maybe a handful off planet, can write this kind of filter. It's very specialized, delicate work. You could not have done this; at least not without a decade of training and experience." She kissed Ratchet on the side of the muzzle and quietly whispered, "Heroes can't always save everyone."

Ratchet nodded. She was probably right. It still hurt, though.

Nichole nodded and continued to outline her treatment, answering Ratchet's original question. "The nanotech is supporting the rogue cells too. We drain the nanotech and then we do the filter surgery. We've got a dedicated system for this procedure in the center, so it will all be done right here; I just need to write the filter. Once that's done, I'll scan him to make sure he's clear and then pump him full of the usual GBD mix: nanotech, nutrients and antimicrobials. He'll be okay, but he'll need to be here for a day or two. He'll need rest and his tissues will need to rebuild."

Nichole could not sit still. She stood, again dragging the chair across the floor to a new position. "He'll also need to get checkups regularly to make sure it doesn't come back."

Nick glanced up at Nichole and their eyes again locked. Sitting up on the couch again, Nick asked, "How're ya holdin' up, sis?"

Nichole sighed. "It's a little rough," she admitted. "But it's routine. I'll be okay, Nicholas. Thanks." She put her hand on Ratchet's shoulder. "And so will he."

There were footsteps down the corridor and Talwyn peeked into the small room. The three lombaxes looked at her as she stared at Ratchet and the twins.

Nichole turned back to Ratchet. "Go home," she told him, poking his chest with her gloved finger. "There's nothing more you can do here. I have to get back to work. I'll drop by later and let you know how everything went. Okay?"

"Okay," Ratchet said. "Thanks, Nichole."

"And you..." she said, turning to her brother. Nick looked up at her, not moving more than a few centicubits on the couch. "Stay outta trouble."

"Me?" Nick asked innocently, feigning shock. Ratchet looked at the twins and could tell that they had repeated this same conversation for most of their lives. Nichole laughed, hugged Talwyn and went back to her office. The force field reactivated.

"Hi, Nick," Talwyn said, moving to the couch and kissing the seated lombax on the side of the muzzle.

"Hey," he replied casually.

Ratchet, Talwyn and Clank had all seen Nick before, but only via comm link or holovid. Talwyn pulled up the chair that Nichole had been using and sat down, her eyes fixed on Nick. "You and your sister really do look alike," she said.

"We get that a lot," Nick answered, a smile on his face.

"What are you doing here?" Talwyn asked. "I know you're seeing your father, but were you on New Fastoon already? I thought you were on The Wrench."

"I am," Nicholas replied. "The LCC recalled the lead engineering crew." Nick looked over at Ratchet with a grin on his muzzle. "Some hot shot working with the CALR says he can boost _my_ thrusters by 400%."

Ratchet met Nick's gaze and grinned slightly. "450" he said. "But who's counting..."

Nick laughed. "We're supposed t' get a demo. If it works -"

"When," Ratchet corrected.

"Yeah," Nick teased. "Right... _If_ it works, we've gotta meet with this hot shot 'n his friends in the CALR t' figure out how t' fit it into a flagship."

"Where are you staying?" Talwyn asked

"Don't know," Nick answered. "I came here right from the Space Center."

"We have a spare room, couch and vidgame center," Ratchet offered. "It beats a guest suite."

Nick smiled. "Cool." He looked over to Talwyn. "Mind if I crash at yer place?"

"Not at all," she said with a smile on her face. "As long you don't mind Jacek's. Neither of us are really good in the kitchen."

Nick chuckled slightly at the mention of Jacek's. "Leave everything t' me," he said. "Trust me."

There was a mischievous gleam in his eyes as he said it. Talwyn, always good at reading lombaxes, immediately picked up on it. "What are you up to?"

Nicholas looked at Ratchet's drooped ears. Ratchet got the information; time for the support he had been thinking about. "I was jus' gonna invite a few people fer dinner," he said. "Uncle Reg, Mel, Rich 'n Nikki -"

"Nikki?" Talwyn asked, chuckling over the nickname.

Nicholas smiled and there was something a bit playful there. "Yeah." He glanced back up the corridor at Nichole's office. "_Never_ call her that if she's around t' hear it... She's got a real good memory 'n doctors have nasty ways o' gettin' even."

Ratchet and Talwyn both chuckled. Knowing Petrov's daughter, they could somehow believe that.

"Anyhoo," Nick continued, "Leave it t' me." Nicholas slowly got off the couch, gesturing for Talwyn to take his place. She did so. "Lemme get started. Do I need a code?"

Ratchet shook his head. "Nah. Just tell the on duty its okay. If they have problems, have 'em call me fer a fitness course."

Nick nodded, smiling. He knew all about fitness courses... "Gotta pad?"

Ratchet blinked, not realizing for a moment what Nick was asking for and then suddenly understanding. "Oh! A teleporter pad?" he asked. Nick nodded. "I've got better..." Ratchet said, smiling slightly as he retrieved Nicholas's neural matrix cap from his manifestor. He handed it to Nicholas, saying, "Clank brought it back with 'm a while ago. I just hadn't seen ya 'til now."

Nicholas accepted the cap with a huge smile on his muzzle and his ears and tail eagerly perked. He carefully inspected the cap, looking at it very closely in the sunlight near the window grinning all the while. His smile grew even wider as he put it on. Nick's manifestor crystal started pulsing to match his cardiac rhythm and Nick's eyes grew momentarily unfocused. A teleporter pad materialized in the center of the room.

"Cool," Nick said, smiling as he stepped on the pad. "Later." The arms shot up and he vanished.

About thirty seconds after Nick had teleported, the teleporter pad itself vanished. "I always wondered what happened t' the pad," Ratchet muttered.

"Probably went back to wherever it came from," Talwyn answered. "Clank will join us in a few minutes. He told me what was happening. He's downloading information from the hyperband now." She put her arm around Ratchet's shoulders and snuggled a bit closer to him. Ratchet was still distracted. Talwyn looked into his eyes and noted the droop of his ears. "What is it?" she said, hugging him slightly.

"It all seems too easy," Ratchet said quietly. "It's no big deal at all."

There was a flash of energy and Clank teleported into the waiting room. He moved forward to join them. "Hello, Ratchet. Talwyn."

"Hi, Clank," Ratchet said.

"Ratchet, I have downloaded background information about GBD for you. If you would like -"

"Thanks, Clank," Ratchet said, his ears drooping a bit more. "But I already know all about GBD. And Nichole stopped by 'n filled me in on how they treat it here."

"How do you know about GBD?" Talwyn asked.

"My parents on Veldin died of it. They were thirty four." Ratchet felt Talwyn draw him a little closer. "I was nine. We didn't have the technology. I tried t' take care of 'em when they got sick." Ratchet shuddered slightly. "It started the same way as Petrov too; a cough. I didn't find out about the blood until later."

"Thirty four?" Talwyn asked. "That seems young."

"No," Ratchet replied. "That's about it for Veldins. They age fast."

Clank nodded. "Organic species have a wide range of life expectancies." He looked at Ratchet. "I am somewhat surprised that you were placed there as an infant for that reason."

"Whoever did it probably didn't know," Talwyn commented. "Most people don't think about it. We usually live about seventy years. What about lombaxes?"

"Eighty five," Ratchet answered. He chuckled slightly. "Assumin' we get that far..."

"Yeah," Talwyn chuckled. "Lombaxes are kind of 'high risk'." She looked at Clank curiously.

"My operational lifespan is projected to be between three hundred and five hundred years," Clank said, answering her unspoken question. "Assuming regular maintenance and routine radiator coil flushes."

"Five hundred..." Ratchet mused. "Ya know, Clank, I don't know how ya do it. I mean, organic life must be real short to you."

"In many cases," Clank began, "robotic life forms create ties with organic families as well as with individuals. Zephyr and Cronk, for example, have been with the Apogee family for three generations." Talwyn nodded. "Even then, I am told that it can still be very painful when one of those individuals terminates."

"It is," Ratchet muttered under his breath.

"I have only been operational for approximately thirteen years, so I have yet to experience such an event."

"And hopefully you won't for a while," Talwyn said, hugging Ratchet again.

Clank looked up at the lombax critically. While he knew the events of Ratchet's personal history from the BetaTex interrogation, this was the first time the lombax had ever spoken of it to anyone. Clank knew that this could be an important step for him. "Ratchet," he said, "you have never spoken of your life on Veldin before. What happened next?"

"Well," Ratchet said heavily, "after they died, I was on my own fer a while. On Veldin I was legally an adult. The house never felt right after that; it was theirs, not mine. I moved out t' the garage, got by doin' a bunch o' odd jobs modding rockets 'n thrusters. I had a knack fer it." Ratchet chuckled slightly. "'Lombax nature', I guess. But I always wanted t' see the stars. I'd lie on the landing pad 'n stare up at 'em fer hours. All I could think about was gettin' off o' that rock. I started buildin' my ship outta parts I found lyin' around. Took over three years, but I did it." He looked over at Clank, a small, but proud grin on his muzzle. "The rest ya know. We met just after I finished it."

Clank nodded, smiling. He knew the whole story, but it was good to hear Ratchet finally able to tell it himself.

Talwyn hugged him closer to her and quietly said, "He'll be alright."

"Yeah," Ratchet admitted, his ears perking a bit. "I know."

"There's nothing we can do here," Talwyn said. "Nichole will be by later on. Why don't we go for a walk?"

Ratchet nodded. Maybe talking with Clank and Talwyn helped; he did feel a little better. "Good idea." The lombax summoned a teleporter pad of his own. Ratchet stood, offered his hand to help Talwyn up and asked Clank, "So how was the council meeting?"

"The council meeting progressed significantly better than I had anticipated," Clank said as they walked toward the pad. "The council approved the expenditures and schedule for deploying your fuel additive and thruster modifications to the Lombax Fleet."

Ratchet chuckled. "Yeah," he said. "I think Aphelion embarrassed 'em."

"That is quite probable," Clank continued as they climbed onto the pad. "In addition, I suspect that you may find a special item on the agenda for the next scheduled council meeting." Ratchet looked at Clank curiously. Clank looked up at Ratchet, his eyes bright. "It is a surprise for your upcoming 'birthday'."

The scanner arms shot upward and the trio vanished.

* * * * *

Ratchet, Clank and Talwyn wandered the stone paved pedways of New Fastoon. They had no specific destination in mind, but decided instead to meander slowly along, examining the familiar building and architecture while updating their friends about Petrov's condition.

Rich Quantum was pleased to hear that it was only GBD. He too had been concerned when he learned about Petrov's symptoms and unusual behavior; the diagnosis was a relief to the regional minister. Another significant, but unspoken, relief to him was the fact that Ratchet was now behaving normally. Rich was beginning to wonder if he would need to send a squad out to capture or sedate the young lombax. After all, Ratchet was known to routinely carry one of the heaviest private arsenals on the planet and had already experienced one berzerker episode on Zaurik involving Petrov. Rich breathed a huge sigh of relief when Ratchet explained the situation calmly to him over the comm link.

Reg did not take it quite as well. The Prime Minister had known Petrov since they were kits and was rather upset on hearing that Petrov was in the med center. He wanted to visit him immediately, but Ratchet explained that Nichole was still treating him. Reg acknowledged that it would probably be best to wait until he could have visitors, but made it a point to say that he wanted to know as soon as Petrov was ready.

Spiff took the news stoically, as Ratchet expected he would. He did not say much over the link, merely thanking Ratchet for the prompt update, for his assistance and asking that he pass along his unofficial thanks to Clank as well for all the robot had done for the council.

Talwyn received an inbound link from Melody. Apparently, she had been at the Space Center working on her ship when Ratchet contacted Reg. Nicholas had already contacted her, letting her know about his father and inviting her to the gathering that he was planning. She explained that she and Reg would both attend and let Talwyn know that Zeke and Spiff would be sitting for Justin. This shocked Talwyn slightly and she asked why Justin needed two sitters.

"Are you kidding?" Melody asked, shocked. "Justin's a one year old! They need all the help they can get! Not only is he getting smart, but he's really curious and _fast_! He's into _everything_! Reg and I can barely keep up!"

When Talwyn relayed that to Ratchet, the lombax chuckled. "Yeah," he said, laughing, "my parents said I was a terror at that age. One time, I found a toolbox 'n had two thirds o' the devices in the house dismantled before they caught me! Lucky fer me I was able t' reassemble most of 'em... They hid the tools after that. And I started savin' for my first omniwrench." Ratchet grinned at the memory.

Ratchet received an inbound link from a rather annoyed Jacek Calorimeter. He had been trying to reach Petrov, but could not get through and tried Ratchet next. When Ratchet explained what had happened, Jacek apologized for his tone and said he would visit Petrov in the med center once the treatment was completed. Then Jacek asked if Nicholas was on planet.

"Yeah," Ratchet said. "He's stayin' with us for a while."

"I knew it!" Jacek said, his temper rising again. "When you see 'm, tell that furball I want my dining room set back! I don't mind 'm stealin' stuff from the restaurants, but my apartment's off limits!"

Ratchet laughed, explaining that Nick has offered to make dinner for him and Talwyn and would handle all the 'arrangements'. Ratchet promised Jacek that he would personally make sure that the chef got his furniture back. While that assurance seemed to calm Jacek down, it made Ratchet wonder exactly what Nichole meant by her "stay outta trouble..." comment earlier.

Eventually, the trio wandered to the Azimuth Memorial Museum and the grassy plaza in front of the ancestral Tachyon home. As Ratchet looked over the real analog of the holosimulation he and Petrov ran that morning, he had to pause for a moment. He explained to Talwyn and Clank that this is where Petrov was killed in the drill and he lingered briefly in the spot where Petrov's body had been projected.

Ratchet moved to the center of the plaza, where the gear memorial was located. The raritanium and trillium structure had been cataloged, disassembled and shipped piece by piece from Polaris to be relocated next to the Azimuth Memorial Museum. The multiple levels of gears had been carefully restored and the broken sections reassembled from the fragments found in the dust and rubble of Fastoon. Those few fragments that had not been located were reconstructed out of carbon crystal; they acted as prisms and threw dazzling rainbow spectra around the monument. Ratchet looked at the crystals and smiled; he knew where three of those missing fragments were.

The original site of the memorial on Fastoon had not been left empty. A new sculpture, composed of non-strategic ornamental metals like gold and platinum, had been constructed there. It was similar in design and details to the original, but was fitted with a carved plaque at its apex with details on how to contact the Lombax Embassy written in fifteen different languages, including, of course, lombax.

Drifting into the museum proper, they paused at the dimensionator exhibit. Doc Tesseract had been very proud of his work and lived to see the exhibit completed. He had managed to completely repair the dimensionator, even though he had to rebuild the neural matrix from scratch because of the extensive scree damage. The explanatory text on a plaque next to the display read that Doc had also corrected the feedback problem that made the prototype unstable and dangerous to use. Ratchet and Clank stared at the device that had started it all.

Ratchet knew that it was nearly functional, with only the amplification matrix missing. The original component, cast from a special alloy as a three and three quarters centicubit hexagonal washer, had been used to create Talwyn's door glove, currently in secure storage at Rich's office. Doc Tesseract had created a replacement washer while rebuilding the dimensionator. To prevent visitors from randomly opening portals in the museum it was stored separately, hidden in a sealed vault beneath the descriptive plaque next to the exhibit. Only the museum staff, the Prime Minister and the members of the Lombax Central Council knew it was there. Fortunately, Clank carried a spare.

Doc Tesseract had witnessed Ratchet's history first hand via the BetaTex recording and, after seeing the lombax drafted to council, wanted to personally make certain that Ratchet had an 'emergency exit' available to him that no one else knew about, not even Reg or Petrov. After Doc moved on, Ratchet received a sealed package from his son Winston as part of Doc's legacy. The package contained the spare amplification matrix, along with details of how it was created and why, plus personal messages from Doc to Ratchet and Clank. Ratchet had respected Doc's wishes and had not told anyone about this except Talwyn; they never had to use it, but it comforted the lombax to know it was there.

They lingered at the exhibit for quite a while, Ratchet tracing his hand over Doctor Sherman Tesseract's name carved in raritanium next to the dimensionator and staring at the only known image of his father in the display case. Then they drifted through the complex, stopping for a while in Talwyn's office inside the private section of the museum. She was continuing her father's study of lombax history and daily life, and was rather respected among the instructors at The Institute for her third party perspective into lombax nature.

As the afternoon slowly wore into the evening, Ratchet got another link on his comm crystal. It was Nicholas. Everything had been prepared and they were to return to the suite as soon as they could. Nick asked that they materialize outside, though, rather than popping in directly, saying that he wanted them to have the 'full effect'. Ratchet was a little nervous at that, especially after hearing Jacek rant about Nick over the comm link, but summoned a teleporter pad and thought about the on duty station outside of their suite. They teleported.

* * * * *

They materialized in the LDM station outside their suite in the Nebula complex. Deputy Tim Resonance was on duty this evening. Tim was the squad leader in charge of Ratchet's security detail, but still took normal shifts watching the elusive minister, usually covering the times when Ratchet was most likely to be in the apartment. Ratchet and Tim had gotten to know each other during those difficult early days on New Fastoon and had become friends.

"I'm sorry to hear about Petrov," Tim began. "I'm sure he'll be okay."

Ratchet nodded. "He will. Nichole's takin' care of him. She'll be here later, so we'll know more then."

"Nick's inside," Tim said with a slight grin. "I haven't seen him in years! He hasn't changed a bit."

"Is that good?" Talwyn asked jokingly.

"Depends on your point of view," Tim chuckled. He looked in to Talwyn's eyes, then Ratchet's. "Uh, I'm not allowed to leave the desk and I know Rich'll be here. But," Tim seemed a bit embarrassed, "uh, if you could send outta plate of leftovers, I'd really appreciate it." Tim looked at Ratchet's door and there was a trace of longing in his eyes. "Nick had the door open while he was cooking and the smells have been drivin' me nuts!"

"He's that good?" Ratchet asked, somewhat surprised. He had never met any lombax, other than Jacek, who really cooked more than just the basics.

Tim let out a deep chuckle. "You'll see..." Tim touched the door control.

The door cycled open. Ratchet, Talwyn and Clank looked into the darkened suite and gasped. The overhead and portable illumination systems had been deactivated, but the room glowed with a warm, inviting radiance. Peering through the doorway, they saw a series of tiny, standalone illumination globes, levitating at various heights throughout the apartment. While each of the centicubit diameter ornamental lanterns did not give off much light individually, the combined effect of dozens (if not hundreds) of them was dazzling; it was as though their apartment was filled with artificial stars.

They also were assaulted by a sudden wave of scents. The aromas of various foods and seasonings, some familiar to Ratchet and Talwyn others completely alien, vied for attention, spilling out from the now opened door into the surrounding deputy station. Ratchet took a deep breath and began to salivate slightly. The scents brought back a lot of memories, both of Petrov introducing him to lombax food for the first time and of his parents on Veldin. It was both enticing and comforting at the same time. And it also made him very, very hungry.

Tim chuckled slightly at the reactions on both Ratchet's and Talwyn's faces. "Yeah," he said. "That's what I've been dealin' with; all... day... long..." Ratchet, Clank and Talwyn all chuckled, but Tim shook his head slightly, looked into Ratchet's eyes and begged, "Please..."

Ratchet nodded. "I'm sure Rich won't mind if ya join us fer dinner."

"Indeed," Clank said, nodding slightly. "You have the added justification of monitoring Ratchet at a much closer proximity."

"And I'm sure Nick won't mind either," Talwyn added.

"Yeah," Ratchet said. "He prob'bly planned it that way. I'll betcha a hundred bolts there's a place set fer ya already."

"No bet," Tim muttered. "He was a few years ahead of me at the Academy. That'd be just like Nick..." He shook his head slightly. "I'll wait here until Rich shows up. I'll let him know."

Ratchet nodded. "Cool."

Ratchet led the way into the suite, followed closely by Talwyn and Clank. While they did not see Nick, the distribution pattern of the lanterns directed them out onto the terrace. Walking through the open archway just off the main living area of the suite, they were once again stunned. The lanterns they had seen throughout the rest of the apartment were here as well, but gathered more thickly around a heavy thorntree wood table. The table was surrounded by nine stout chairs and reminded Ratchet and Clank of the council chamber. But the council chamber was never this inviting.

The table was covered with a white linen cloth and there was an elegant array of empty plates, flasks and utensils arranged for a rather large meal. A single crimson thorntree spike was ornamentally placed in front of each setting, along with a small cluster of lanterns to provide illumination. Hovering over the center of the table was a significantly larger grouping of even smaller lanterns, but the millicubit lights had somehow been linked so that their placement and movement resembled a spiral armed galaxy, slowly spinning above the diners. Below the celestial display, a large number of covered dishes waited. There were slight traces of steam rising from most of them and the aromas of the foods were overwhelming.

Ratchet looked carefully at the place settings. Each one had a tiny card with a name written on it. Apparently, Nick was trying to be very fancy and formal about the whole thing. Ratchet, Talwyn and Clank were there, along with Nicholas, Nichole, Rich, Reg, Melody and Tim. When Talwyn found Tim's card, she pointed it out to Ratchet, chuckling. Ratchet grinned, took the card, went back out to the on duty station and showed it to Tim. The deputy started laughing and Ratchet returned, replacing the card.

Clank noted that his place setting had a slightly different configuration than the others. It still had the same array of plates and utensils, but there was a covered dish carefully placed directly in front of his position at the table. There was no steam rising from under the lid, but they could detect a faint glow and a humming sound coming from the dish. Clank was intrigued and moved to peek under the lid.

There was a flash of light as a still image was captured. Nick stood in the archway watching them. "Unh-unh," he quietly chided. "Not 'til everyone's here."

They all turned toward Petrov's son. He was casually leaning against the archway, arms crossed with his tail lashing against his leg. He had a huge grin on his face.

Talwyn was the first to react. "This is fabulous!" she said. "You did a fantastic job! It really looks beautiful!"

Ratchet and Clank nodded their agreement. Ratchet added, "Jacek called. He wants his table back..."

Nick chuckled. "Eventually..." he drawled.

"Am I correct in assuming that you and Jacek know each other well?" Clank asked

"Kinda," Nick answered. "I worked fer him fer a while before joining the LDM. I send him stuff I pick up in my travels. The Wrench does a lotta movin' around, 'n I like t' collect recipes." Nick chuckled. "He gets copies, I steal his stuff. It's fair."

Ratchet grinned. It was sorta fair, in a twisted kind of way. "He said his apartment was off limits," Ratchet told him, chuckling.

Nick casually dismissed that. "So? I'll put it back when we're done. He'll be happy; I got 'm a bunch o' spices that'll blow his mind." He looked at Ratchet. "Speakin' of... The cap's great! Thanks! 'n I gotta thank Al next time I call 'm." Nicholas was naturally curious about Big Al and his various projects. The two engineers had quickly struck up a friendship over hyperD and were periodically in touch.

Ratchet grinned. "He'd like that. With all the caps, he's startin' t' think of openin' up a shop here."

"That'd be cool," Nick said. "Get 'm over here. We'll have a blast!"

"Where did you learn to do all this," Talwyn asked, gesturing at the terrace in general.

Nick chuckled. "As Al would say, 'There's nothin' more dangerous than a bored engineer.'" Nicholas laughed a bit. "'cept per'aps a bored _lombax_ engineer... Sometimes The Wrench gets a bit dull; ya find ways t' keep things, uh, int'resting..."

Ratchet laughed. He could easily imagine Nicholas setting up a table like this in the middle of an engine room, just to see what kind of reaction he'd get.

"Hope ya don't mind," Nick said, "But I wanna invite Tim. He seemed kinda desperate..."

"We had intended to ask if it was acceptable if he joined us," Clank said.

"Excellent..." Nick drawled slowly. His eyes unfocused for a moment and he smiled. "The others'll be here soon. Take yer seats, but no peekin'.

They all sat down at their places, Nicholas nearest the archway with Clank to his right, then Ratchet, then Talwyn. Ratchet could not tear his eyes away from the spinning galaxy above the table. Nicholas chuckled, "Ya like it?"

Ratchet nodded.

"Same lights, only a lot smaller. That's Leonid; I dumped the star chart t' the config program."

"Wow," Ratchet said, staring at the swirling stars. He was already familiar with the star maps and navigational beacons of the region, but nothing on a galactic scale; the LDM wouldn't let him off planet without an escort and for some reason they weren't comfortable with him straying far from New Fastoon. "Where're we?"

Nicholas looked up and one of the stars began to flash on and off. Ratchet nodded. Pretty much where he suspected, on the primary spiral arm, near the galactic center. "If ya like it," Nicholas said, "it's yers. I can always get another one."

"Thanks!" Ratchet said with a smile, looking up at the galaxy.

"Not in the bedroom!" Talwyn quickly added, nudging Ratchet in the ribs. The lombax's ears fell a tiny bit, but he nodded. It would look cool by the media center too...

Nick looked at Ratchet and asked, "How'd dad like the campin' trip?" Nick had heard all about it from both his father and Nichole. Obviously, both lombaxes told the story from a different perspective; Petrov from the escape, camping and sharking end of things, Nichole filling Nick in (at length) about Rich and their bonding.

Ratchet looked into Nick's eyes. They were the color of sunlight through the leaves. There were so many things he could say about that trip: the planning, creating the crystals, the initial escape, the camping, the sharking, capturing Rich; but Ratchet grinned and summed it up with two words, "He purred."

Nick's eyes widened slightly, grew very soft and took on a pale jade color, almost white. A smile slowly spread across his muzzle and in a quiet emotional voice, he said, "Thank you."

There was a chime from the suite entrance. They turned as the door opened and Reg and Melody walked in. Reg had a carton of fizzy spirits in his hand and was wearing his best jeans (there were no thruster burns visible) and his leviathan skin vest. Mel was wearing an overlarge flowing shirt that deemphasized the fact that she was seven months pregnant with their second kit. The couple walked through the simulated stars to the dining table, their eyes draw to the elegant settings and Nick's careful preparations. They were stunned.

"I think I'm underdressed," Reg said in awe, looking at the light from the Leonid galaxy model reflecting in the platinum covered serving dishes.

"You're never underdressed," Melody said with a somewhat suggestive smile on her face. She wrapped her arm around his lower back and led him to their seats. As they passed by Nicholas, Reg patted him on the shoulder briskly, nodding. Melody sat next to Talwyn with Reg to her right.

Talwyn turned to Mel and asked, "Did you find out?"

Mel returned her gaze and shook her head. "No," she said. "I decided not to at the last minute. Nichole knows, of course, but we asked her not to tell us. We want it to be a surprise. The important thing is we know it's healthy and it's due in about four weeks."

"Have you selected a name for the kit?" Clank asked.

"We're still working on that," Reg said. "If it's a female, we're going to name her Crystal. If it's male, well, were still deciding between Marcus and Charles."

"She's female," Nick said with absolute certainty.

The table grew silent. Clank looked at him and asked, "How do you know this?"

Nick smiled mysteriously, leaned back in his chair, propped his arm on the backrest and said, "Instincts."

Everyone laughed. The door chimed again and Rich entered, followed closely by Tim. Everyone greeted the two newcomers.

"Ratchet," Rich started in a mockingly serious voice, "Is it okay with you if Tim does his surveillance at close range tonight?"

"Sure..." Ratchet drawled in reply. "Why not?"

They sat down (Tim next to Reg, directly across from Ratchet, with Rich to his right) and Rich's eyes were drawn to the various dishes on the table. Tim coughed politely and said, "Minister, I believe you're supposed to be helping me watch the councilor?"

There was a chuckle around the table. Rich looked at Tim and replied, "After the 'jammies' crack, you're lucky you're not still in region two..."

Tim chuckled slightly and mumbled under his breath, "You're just pissed because I was right." Reg, sitting right next to deputy, overheard him and laughed.

Rich raised his eyes to those around the table. "Nichole will be here as soon as she can," he said. "She's getting Petrov settled for the night. I didn't have a chance to talk with her for long, but she said that everything was routine. That's probably a good thing." Everyone mumbled their ascent.

"So how did you enjoy Saphria?" Melody asked Rich. "Wasn't it just like we said?"

"It was fantastic!" Rich replied, grinning. "We had a great time. We didn't want it to end."

"Aphelion's still in therapy, ya know," Ratchet joked.

"Huh? Why?"

"You tell me," Ratchet teased. "She won't say anything, but she was actin' funny when ya got back."

"I believe that I have corrected that," Clank added. "She requested my assistance in erasing her cabin video memory."

"Cabin... video..." Rich said in a very weak voice, his ears drooping. Clank noticed him blushing heavily in infrared.

"Aw, Clank," Ratchet blurted out. "Why didn't ya tell me?"

"Aphelion asked me not to."

Talwyn playfully hit Ratchet on the side. "That's not nice," she scolded.

"What?" he said. "Just tryin' t' be fair. For all we know, he's got vidlinks planted all over the suite."

Talwyn's eyes widened and her gaze swung to Rich. Her eyes hardened a bit as she said, "He wouldn't _dare_!"

Rich was caught between his previous embarrassment and trying to defend himself. He was extremely flustered and could not speak. Deputy Resonance leaned over to Rich at that very moment and 'whispered' in a voice deliberately loud enough for everyone to hear, "I'll have the squad take the vidlinks out first thing in the morning..."

Everyone burst into laughter and Reg, who was sipping on his water flask at the time, choked briefly.

Nick slowly unwound himself from his chair and sat up. "We might as well get started," he said. His eyes unfocused briefly and the platinum covers on all of the serving dishes vanished simultaneously. There was a huge puff of steam that rose from the table, passing through the flock of simulated stars, into the night air and the real stars above them. The sudden release of the aromas of the various dishes was like a physical blow to the lombaxes around the table and all eyes were drawn to the plates.

Nick didn't get up. He took a portable photon beam generator from his shirt pocket, focused it to a coherent stream and pointed out each dish in turn. "T' start with, we've got a chilled salad o' fruit 'n herbs with a bit o' light acorn dressing. Next is some fresh pteradon stock with dumplings. We've got a tray o' multistrata; it's got layers o' meat sauce, cheeses, blanched greens and hexagonal pasta. I seared some leviathan filets over a thruster; they should be real rare in the middle but still have that crispy seasoned char. There's a plate o' what my dad would call 'vegetable matter'... just some fresh seed pods and stalks with a bit o' sauce. Some firesticks; watch out, they're real spicy. And, o' course, some fresh berry pie with a bit o' frozen whipped sweet cream."

There was a moment of stunned silence around the table at the sheer quantity, quality and diversity of the food in front of them. Nick turned to Clank, pointer still in hand. "Clank, you've got a synchronized power cell, variable frequency from thirty-five t' fourty cycles per microsecond, combined with an input augmenter 'n high energy magnetron particle generator. Fer dessert, you've got some Ytterbium 154 isotopes, stabilized in a catalytic containment field. Careful with the generator; I couldn't try it, obviously, but it should be calibrated fer most o' the standard circuit layouts. You might wanna scan it first, though."

Clank's eyes brightened in amazement. Normally, he was content to merely observe the lombaxes as they enthusiastically dined on their food. The components in front of him were high precision and extremely specialized; carefully selected to provide a balance of energy, system regeneration and sensory stimulation. "Nicholas," Clank began, "where did you learn to 'cook' for robotic life forms?"

Nick leaned further back in the chair, a smile on his muzzle. "Over half my engineers 'r robotic," he said. "I picked up a few recipes." He slowly nodded his head and casually waved his gloved right hand over the table in a magnanimous gesture. "Dig in!"

No one needed a second invitation. The plates were passed around, portions scooped, steaks served, broth ladled, pasta cut and components connected in a rapid flurry of yellow, orange and brown striped movement. Except for Talwyn, whose pinkish purple exposed skin stood out among the reaching furry arms. Nicholas watched with a calm smile on his face as he waited until everyone else had their plates filled. But he had the advantage of having tasted and sampled the various dishes all afternoon.

After about twenty five minutes of near silence, broken only by contented munching, sighs, compliments and requests for more of a specific delicacy to be passed across the table, the outer door chimed once more. Ratchet looked up from his leviathan filet, phase knife still in his hand, and opened the door with his neural matrix. A very tired Nichole walked through the suite, removed her outer white coat and draped it on one of the kitchenette chairs. She grinned as she glanced around the apartment at the simulated stars and walked through the archway. She put her hand on Nick's shoulder and said to the group, "Sorry I'm late."

There was a murmur of welcome. All eyes were locked on her face.

"He's fine," she said, answering the uppermost question on everyone's mind. There was a collective sigh of relief around the table. "The filter was routine and there was no trace of rogues afterward. It was about 3.1% of his body mass, though. I've seen worse, but he must've been putting off getting checked for a while. He'll be recovering in the med center for a few days."

Nick met her gaze and nodded, visibly relieved. Then he grinned up at her playfully. "It was tough, but we saved ya some." He indicated the vacant chair to his left next to Rich. Nick took her plate from in front of her and started piling an assortment of foods on it.

"Not too much," she said. "I know you tend to go out the airlock sometimes."

Rich opened a tiny bottle of fizzy spirits and placed it in front of her. Her eyes were a deep forest green and her ears droops a little, but she seemed more tired than grim. "You look exhausted," he said.

Talwyn nodded in agreement. "Petrov being sick is bad enough. It must be horrible having to work on your own father."

"It's really delicate work," Nichole said. "I wouldn't trust it to anyone else. But, yeah, it was rough. Especially seeing him on the teleporter..." She shuddered slightly then looked into Ratchet's eyes. "I think I understand a bit better now."

Ratchet nodded soberly then smiled. "Thanks."

Rich wrapped his arm around Nichole's shoulders. "Eat," he told her.

She chuckled and glanced at her brother. "See what you're missing? You really should find a partner and get bonded."

Nicholas rolled his eyes. "She does this every time," he mumbled. "Can you picture me bonded?"

"Not everybody bonds young like your dad did," Reg said. "Look at me and Mel."

"Exactly!" Melody continued. "You never know when the right partner comes along."

Nick chuckled, shaking his head with a cynical grin on his muzzle.

"Believe me," Reg said, "you never see it coming. I mean look at your mom and dad... She woulda been pissed at him for not taking care of himself."

"What was she like?" Ratchet asked, looked between Reg and the twins. "I know they were close, but he never really talks about her." He looked at Nicholas and Nichole and added, somewhat apologetically, "If you don't mind..."

Nichole said, "We really don't remember mom very well. Most of what we know Uncle Reg or our Grans told us."

"Cynthia and Petrov bonded when they were very young," Reg said. "The met at the Academy. Zeke was an instructor at the time. That was before he got drafted to council." Reg started chuckling to himself. "I used t' joke with Petrov all the time that the only reason he ever passed was because he was dating the instructor's daughter... They were a great couple. They took care of each other; looked out for each other..." He looked at Melody to his left and she wrapped her arm around his shoulders, pulling him to her slightly.

Reg's ears drooped a little and he sighed. "The twins were just over a year old when Percival attacked. Cynthia was really good with people and helped out with the resistance in Meridian City. Petrov was already in the LDM and rose quickly through the ranks... I think he was a commander at the time. He and the rest of the LDM were trying to hold back the drophyds while Cynthia got the resistance going. I was an infiltrator at the time.

"We never saw it coming. We were finally starting to recover from the Great War when Percival hit us with our own weapons from inside our defenses. And he was brutally wiping out entire systems in Polaris just to kill each and every one of us. It was too much."

The table was silent as everyone listened. The older lombaxes, Reg and Melody, had lived through it. But to the rest it was a matter of history. Recent history certainly, still fresh, still painful, still evident every day, but they had not personally lived through it, or were too young to remember themselves.

"That's when Chuck brokered the agreement. He and the surviving council members didn't want to see nearly half Polaris destroyed just because Percival had it in for us. He made the deal and we left." Reg sighed, a sad look in his brown eyes and his ears drooped. Having seen for himself through Ratchet's eyes what happened to Polaris after the Flight, he could not help but ask if it had been worth it. Shaking his head, he looked at the twins, sitting side by side, and continued.

"Petrov, Colonel Caliber, Zeke and a few others from the LDM were the first through the portal. They were the ones who made sure it was safe, cleared the way for the others to follow. Chuck had Ratchet's dad lock in on the Neutrino Estate as a bridgehead. Your mom started organizing the survivors into groups, but she gave you to me, Doc T and Aurora to bring over early. You were asleep at the time; I don't know if Doc gave you something or not. Probably. Anyway, the five of us crossed over. We checked in with your dad and I brought you to the Solstice House. I left you with Doc and your Gran and went back to help your dad with getting folks settled.

"As far as we know, everyone came home to Fastoon when the fighting first broke out, and by the time it was over, less than twenty six thousand lombaxes survived. We had just started coming back from the Great War when Percival attacked. That census was the final blow. It hurt us all. We thought we were a doomed species, destined to fade into extinction, watching all we had built crumble to dust. It was a grim day; nearly everyone had lost someone, or knew someone that did." Reg paused and pulled his eyes from the twins, closing them briefly in pain. "And then Chuck told Petrov that Cynthia was missing."

"How did he take it?" Ratchet quietly asked.

Reg looked into Ratchet's eyes and gave a single grunting chuckle. "Like you'd expect; he kicked a chunk of machinery and shattered his foot."

Ratchet closed his eyes and shook his head slowly. Yeah, that was about right, he thought. "Figures..."

"He wasn't the same for a long time after that. We got nervous. We watched him closely, made sure the twins were okay. But he kept taking high risk duties with the LDM, clearing dangerous wildlife, exploring hostile regions, that kind o' thing. He hated Percival and the drophyds deeply and took out his rage on some of those missions. And, like his dad, he became obsessed with the Keeper, searching for clues to his identity and for ways to rescue him." Reg looked at Ratchet again, adding, "And you." Ratchet grinned slightly.

"Eventually, Doc T put him on cerebral compensators. It took a while, but he snapped out of it and he's been better ever since. But sometimes I still think he was either looking for something or trying to make up for what happened. Even that's been better lately; ever since he met you, Ratchet. After he saw how you grew up and how everything turned out, I think it finally put that part of his mind at peace."

Nichole nodded. "We saw the change right away. We weren't a bit surprised when dad sat down with us and asked our opinions about adopting you. Nicholas and I already knew quite a bit from what Uncle Reg told us."

Nick grinned, slowly drawling, "Yeah... We thought it'd be cool havin' a _little_ brother." Nick emphasized the word 'little' slightly and made a descriptive gesture, holding up his thumb and index figure a centicubit apart.

Ratchet grinned at the twins and chuckled. "Thanks."

"What surprises me," Talwyn said, "is that Petrov didn't remarry. I would think that he..."

Her voice trailed off as she saw Reg shaking his head. "No. 'Lombax nature', as Doc would say. Lombaxes bond for life - literally. It's not just emotional, but physical and psychological as well. Petrov would never want to seek another mate." He glanced over at Nick lounging in his seat, adding, "At least not for himself..." Nicholas rolled his eyes again, but didn't bother to comment. "Even if he did, it wouldn't be the same. It just wouldn't work..."

Talwyn nodded. While it was sad that Petrov had lost his mate so young, it somehow comforted Talwyn knowing that she and Ratchet were bonded. She reached out with her left hand and lightly scratched the fur behind his right ear; she knew how much it annoyed him. Ratchet twitched his head slightly, the bulk of his ear knocking her hand away and gave her a look. She grinned back at him.

Reg continued, "...and he's probably hoping to find her again."

Ratchet startled slightly. "Wha'd'ya mean? Like an afterlife? There's something to that?"

Melody smiled at him, "Even with all we've learned, there's even more we don't know. Every answer just opens a hundred more questions. We don't know how life began, or what happens when it ends. But I've seen this same debate on every sentient world I've been too. Some species believe in a paradise or judgment. Others think they just decay and join the soil of their home world. Many just muddle through and try not to think about it."

"For the most part," Reg continued, picking up from where Melody left off, "lombaxes feel that sentience is forever. That sentience was around before we were born..." Reg glanced at Clank, "or manufactured and will still be around after we terminate. This is just one step in existence. That's why most lombaxes aren't afraid of moving on. At least, not really. After all, it's just another adventure; possibly the greatest of them all!"

Nichole looked at Ratchet. "Dad was just pissed that he didn't know and that mom might have left without him. We reminded him that she really didn't have much of a choice, but that either way she might still be out there, waiting... watching..."

"Taking notes..." Nicholas interjected. Everyone around the table chuckled a bit.

"I think that helped dad snap out of it," Nichole said, nodding, "the thought of mom still watching out for him, like she used to. Even now, though, dad still does some pretty dumb things. From the amount of GBD spread, dad must've known something was wrong for at least a month, probably two. He'd been keeping it quiet. Something must've shocked him badly to get him to come in to the office."

Ratchet looked at her, a bit embarrassed. "That, uh, mighta been me. I was showin' 'm my fitness course 'n he got killed in it. He kept starin' at his body 'n his eyes were this weird twilight color I've never seen before -"

"Twilight?" Reg interrupted, shocked.

Ratchet nodded, "Yeah."

"Wow," Reg said in amazement. "I haven't seen him scared of anything in decades!"

"It mighta been the GBD," Ratchet said. "He was coughin' pretty bad. Probably the combination -"

"Maybe," Reg nodded. "But I've gotta try that simulation!"

"Sure," Ratchet replied, nodding. He looked at Rich and Tim. "Actually, I'd like the two o' you t' watch. I'm thinkin' o' recommending it fer the LDM 'n I want..." Rich and Tim looked at each other, their eyes widening and their ears drooping slightly. "Oh, knock it off!" Ratchet answered. "I just wanna get your opinions; ya don't hafta run it if ya don't wanna."

Rich gave a guilty chuckle. "Sorry, Ratchet. Habit. You know how much I love fitness courses..."

Ratchet gave him an evil grin. "This one's diff'rent. Trust me..."

Nicholas started laughing. "I've heard that one b'fore..."

Nichole was shaking her head. Looking at Reg, she said, "Dad's eyes were almost midnight when he walked into my office, right in the middle of a meeting. One look and I knew it was bad. I kicked my staff out and examined him right then. We were both relieved when it was only GBD." She shuddered slightly and then looked down at her leviathan filet. Wanting to change the subject, she pointed at the filet with her phase knife and said to her brother, "This is really good, by the way..."

Nick smiled and nodded slightly, "Of course..."

Ratchet asked, "Where'd'ya learn t' cook?" Nick looked as though he was about to flippantly brush the question aside, so Ratchet added, "Seriously."

Nicholas's eyes grew a little whitish as the memories came back to him. "My Gran Aurora taught me. I used t' help her all the time in the kitchen before I went t' the Academy."

"Have you ever thought of cooking as a profession?" Tim asked.

Talwyn nodded. "You could start your own restaurants."

Nick chuckled. "I used t' work fer Jacek during study breaks. That's how we got t' know each other. I used t' drive him nuts, borrowin' stuff from his kitchens t' cook on campus. But I'd always send him a recipe or some leftovers t' try." He chuckled. "Some of 'em even made it onto his menu. When I joined the LDM, I started travellin' with The Wrench. I still send 'm recipes or samples of interesting ingredients I find along the way." He looked over the table and at the rather small quantity of leftovers, again laughing a bit. "I'll prob'bly send him a taste when I give 'm back his furniture." Becoming a bit more serious, he looked at Talwyn and said, "I might open my own place someday." His muzzle split into a playful grin. "But right now, I'm havin' waaaay too much fun!"

"Nick says the kit is female," Melody said to Nichole.

"Are you still doin' that?" Nichole asked sarcastically, swatting her brother's arm off the backrest of the chair with her gloved hand.

"What?" he drawled.

Looking around the table, Nichole explained, "He makes this huge prediction, gets all mysterious and then doesn't say another word until the kit is born. He's got a fifty-fifty chance of being right. If he's right, he gloats about it for weeks; if he's wrong, he doesn't mention it again and everyone forgets."

There was a chuckle around the table. Nicholas looked at Nichole and said, "Aw, come on sis! Yer spoilin' all my fun!"

"Speaking of fun," Ratchet said, looking at Nichole, "it looks like ya could really use some time off. Why don't you 'n Rich go campin' after Petrov's better? I've still got all the gear."

Rich's ears perked and his eyes opened wide. "Yeah, Nichole! Just you and me."

"Dad will be in for a few days and I've got a full schedule next week..."

"They're just checkups," Melody said. "And one of them's mine. I can wait."

"Cancel them," Rich said, rather firmly. "That's _my_ prescription for _you_."

"Okay! Okay... Deal," Nichole laughed, looking around the table. "There's nothing that can't wait. They're just checkups anyway..."

Nichole's gaze fell on Ratchet as she was talking and her voice trailed off. "Wait a second," she said. "We've been talking about dad not getting checked. How come I haven't seen you in my office?"

Ratchet sat back in the chair, his eyes darting to the left and to the right, as though looking for an escape. "Uhhh..."

"Seriously," Nichole pressed. "When was your last checkup?" When Ratchet did not reply immediately, she continued, "And I'm not talking about being abducted, cloned, experimented on or anything involuntary. Just a regular checkup..."

Ratchet's eyes dropped to the table. In a very quiet voice, highly embarrassed, he muttered, "...eight..." almost inaudibly.

"Eight?" Nichole asked, her eyes boring into him, darkening through various shades of green. "Eight months?"

Nicholas took one look at Ratchet, leaned over and said, "Try years, sis..."

"I was eight..." Ratchet finally admitted, looking up at her.

There was a strange silence for nearly ten seconds. Nicholas muttered, "...busted..." Clank chuckled and nodded to Nick.

And then came the explosion. Nichole launched up from her chair and stood at the table, her phase knife still in her hand. She waved it around gesturing at Ratchet as her normally quick speech grew even faster. "You were _eight_!?! _EIGHT!?!_ Are you _out of your mind!?!_ Do you realize how _dangerous_ that is!?! Nanotech doesn't heal everything, you know! Fractures might not set properly. You could've pick up an infection; a parasite; _anything_! You've been wandering through I don't even wanna think about how many different swamps, deserts, prisons, sewers, arenas and cities, living on fast food and who knows what for decades! In four different galaxies! You could've picked up anything!"

"But..." Ratchet weakly tried to defend himself.

Nichole pointed her phase knife at him. In a very stern professional voice, she commanded, "You. My office. Dawn. Be there!"

"But..."

"Be there!"

Nichole's phase knife was pointed directly at Ratchet. He looked into her eyes; they were a shade of green that he had only even seen before in the corrosive rivers of Orxon, the polluted Blargian homeworld. He hung his head. "Yes, ma'am," he answered.

There was an awkward silence. Rich tried to break it first. "But we're still going camping, right?"

"That's up to Ratchet," Nichole said, her eyes still locked on the lombax. Ratchet groaned slightly in response.

More silence. Nicholas nudged his sister in the side. She retrieved her chair and sat back down, a little embarrassed. But she refused to back down or apologize.

Reg looked at Ratchet and felt a little sorry for him. Changing the subject, he said to Nichole, "Speaking of camping, did I ever tell you about the time your dad set his feet on fire?"

_That_ got the twins attention. They both looked at Reg and shook their heads in unison. Clank chuckled. "Petrov did mention that he had singed the fur on the bottoms of his feet -"

Reg grinned and shook his head. "Not 'singed'. Set. On. Fire. And not just the bottoms. His likes to warm his feet in front of the campfire. One time he started to doze off, stretched, bumped into a burning branch and knocked part of it over. His fur caught and there were flames up to his shins. We put it out quick enough and nanotech healed the burns. But all of his fur from the ankles down: gone! And the smell of burnt fur was so bad that we had to move to a new campsite."

There were roars of laughter around the table and the mood lightened considerably. Ratchet smiled gratefully at Reg and said, "He still does that, but he's a lot more careful now..."

* * * * *

It was late. The dinner and conversation had lasted well into the night. Nick was quite correct in his earlier estimations; there was very little left over. While there was enough to send Jacek a small sample of each dish, it was scarcely more than a tease. Everyone had pitched in to help clear the table, place the gear into the sterilizer (it took five cycles to finish all the dishes) and generally clean up the debris. Nicholas returned the table, chairs, linens and place settings to Jacek using a remote teleport and his neural matrix. He also included the package of leftovers, a container filled with various labeled vials of spices and a handwritten note that simply read 'Hey'. Ratchet didn't even know that he could initiate a remote teleport like that and Nicholas showed him how to do it by tapping into building freight teleporters within range of the matrix. Nicholas also used his matrix to gather up the floating lanterns and store them in two different containers; one for the larger 'stars', the other for the smaller lights that made up the galactic display. He gave the containers to Ratchet, along with instructions on how to download various star charts to the config software.

But now the guests had all returned to their homes, Clank was in his sleeping chamber and Nick was relaxing on the living area couch, playing a vidgame. Ratchet and Talwyn had created a sensory distortion field around their sleeping chamber as usual. They were lying side by side in bed, Ratchet staring up at the dark ceiling, lost in thought. Talwyn turned over onto her right side and looked at his profile. She chuckled a little and said, "Forget it! You're not putting that galaxy up there." When Ratchet did not reply, she became more serious and asked "What is it, Ratchet? What's wrong?" She sat up. "Are you worried about Petrov?"

Ratchet shrugged his shoulders slightly and sighed. Not taking his eyes from the ceiling, he answered, "A little, I guess. Petrov... The exam..." He turned his head to look at her. "Seventy..."

Talwyn smiled slightly. Reaching out her left hand, she started gently stroking the soft fur on Ratchet's stomach. The lombax smiled slightly and stretched a little. It felt nice. "So what?" she answered.

"Well," Ratchet started, "I just can't picture bein' without you. I see Petrov all the time 'n sometime I wonder what it must be like fer 'm; Cynthia gone, kits grown... Pretty much alone..."

"I know," Talwyn said very sadly. "But he knows we're here for him; all of us. He's not alone. I'm sure he appreciates it." Ratchet nodded and then Talwyn chuckled. "As for seventy," she said, "the way you carry on, I might still outlive you."

Ratchet chuckled. "True."

"Anyway, we've still got a lot of time left," Talwyn said. "The important thing is that we make the best of it." She kissed him on the muzzle.

"Yeah..." A gentle smile slowly spread across Ratchet's muzzle.

Talwyn's stroking of Ratchet's fur grew a little firmer, rubbing against the grain around his stomach and chest. She leaned over and whispered into his ear, "That includes tonight, you know." She nipped him very gently on the edge of his ear.

Ratchet's smile turned into a bit of a leer. He turned toward her and looked into her eyes.

"I'm sure Petrov would approve," she said.

Ratchet chuckled again. "Probably with a dirty grin on his face," he laughed. He moved toward her and kissed her in return.

* * * * *

Ratchet woke up an hour and a half before dawn. Talwyn was still asleep as he quietly made his way out of their bedroom. He could hear Nicholas snoring heavily through the guest room door as he slipped into the soundproofed bathroom and took a very quick hydroshower. Drying himself thoroughly and fluffing his fur, he glanced at his reflection in the display panel. He shook his head slightly and dressed. He did not have much time.

The lombax moved very slowly and carefully through the suite, trying not to disturb anyone. At the front entrance, he picked up his tracer and walked outside with it still in his hands. The on duty deputy, Ratchet did not know his name yet - he was still new to the security detail, wordlessly accepted the tracer as Ratchet handed it to him. The lombax put his foot on the box next to the station and the deputy attached and tested the tracer. It emitted a green light / mild tone. Ratchet quietly muttered, "Thanks," and walked to the teleporter pad.

The tone was the reason Ratchet did not want to put on the tracer inside. He knew how sharp Clank's hearing was. The lombax wanted to slip away quietly without anyone finding out. Standing on the teleporter pad, Ratchet thought of the Region Nine Space Center.

He materialized as close to Aphelion's hanger as he dared. Ratchet suspected that Rich had set alarms to let him know if Ratchet ever went to the space center via teleport. (The lombax was partially correct; there were alarms rigged, but they were based on the tracer's location, not his teleport destination.) Ratchet made a run for Aphelion's hanger, hoping to get there before...

The lombax skidded to a stop. Aphelion wasn't there! Clank, however, was. The robot was standing on Aphelion's pad, looking at Ratchet with his head slightly tilted to one side. "Nichole suspected that you might attempt to evade your maintenance appointment," Clank said. "She asked that I observe you closely and take action, if necessary, to assure your attendance."

Ratchet's ears sunk. "I was only goin' fer a quick..." Clank shook his head. "Really! I was gonna be right..." Clank shook his head again. "Fine," Ratchet finally said, sulky slightly. "I'll go."

"That is an excellent idea, Ratchet," Clank said in a very cheerful voice. "It is truly in your best interests. While I do not personally enjoy maintenance routines either, I understand that they are a necessary part of my functioning optimally."

"Yeah," Ratchet said. "Hey, wait... I usually do your maintenance..."

Clank looked away. "Uh, that is correct." He looked up at Ratchet. "May I recommend that in future examinations you properly ground your probes before testing my circuits?"

"Static?" Ratchet asked, surprised. He always thought he _had_ grounded himself properly.

Clank nodded. "The voltage is insufficient to cause any damage, but it is still rather, uh..."

"Don't say it..." Ratchet begged.

Clank chuckled slightly. "Shocking..."

Ratchet groaned.

Clank's antenna pulsed. "Doctor Neutrino requests that you proceed directly to her office. Anticipating your reluctance, she does not wish to give you sufficient time to consider an alternate evasion plan."

"Thanks, Clank," Ratchet said weakly.

"It is truly in your best interests," Clank said as he accompanied the lombax to the public teleporter pads. "I will alert Aphelion that she may return to the pad at her convenience."

As Ratchet climbed onto the teleport pad, he wondered briefly if he should try for the hoverbike track. But the lombax was willing to bet a thousand bolts that Nichole had someone, probably Rich, waiting for him there as well. (He would have won.) With a sigh, Ratchet thought about the corridor outside Nichole's office and said out loud, "Med Center, Region Nine." The scanner arms shot out and he teleported.

* * * * *

Ratchet stood outside the etched glass doors of Nichole's office in the upper levels of the Region Nine Med Center. The corridor was dark and there was no sign of any movement. This was not surprising; the sun had not risen yet and this floor was primarily administrative offices. The light from inside Nichole's office streamed outward through the doors and illuminated a small section of the corridor. Glancing through the glass, Ratchet could see the displays along two of the walls in Nichole's office. They showed various parts of the facility, including patient rooms, treatment centers and therapy equipment areas. Ratchet noticed that most of the rooms were empty, but he did recognize a familiar figure lying on his side in one of the patient rooms. It was hard not to notice; this image was in the center of the display, significantly larger than the others. From what Ratchet could tell from here, it appeared as if Petrov was resting comfortably, possibly asleep.

He caught a quick movement on the other side of the office and all of the monitors blanked out. Nichole stood and quickly walked around the desk towards him. Ratchet had one last thought of running before Nichole reached the door and pulled it open. "Ratchet," she said. "I'm glad you decided to come." She grabbed his arm and half led, half pulled him into her office. Crossing the fairly large space between her desk and the display walls, Nichole led Ratchet to a chair in front of her desk. "Have a seat," she said, then circled around to sit as well.

"How are you this morning?" Ratchet asked.

"Much better," she said. "Dad's doing well, things are quiet at the moment." Her voice was quick and it was plain to see that her energy level was back to its typical extremely high level. "Even planning the camping trip is nice; something to look forward to. I've already cancelled the routine stuff and I've arranged for Doctor Phage to cover any emergencies while I'm gone."

"Good," Ratchet said. He was always a little tongue tied trying to keep up with Nichole's energy and quick speech.

Nichole looked around her office briefly and her eyes unfocused for a moment. A sensory distortion force field sprung up around the entire room covering all four walls, the ceiling and the floor. The field looked rather secure.

Nichole looked into Ratchet's suddenly nervous eyes and her voice shifted to her slower, professional voice. "This force field is sensory distorting. You know that, but let me explain why anyway. I am your doctor, you are my patient. Whatever you say to me in that manner is strictly between us. No one, and I mean no one, will ever know what is said unless you want them to know. You can say anything to me, no matter how personal or embarrassing you may think it is. It's important that you trust me so that I can help you and treat any problems that you may have. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

"Okay," Nichole said, smiling slightly. "Now that that's out of the way..." She glanced at the empty space between her desk and the display screens. An examination table materialized in the room. It was rather low, about the height of a standard chair seat. The table was covered with small fixed cushions made of a transparent material. There were no signs of any of the probes, wires or straps that Ratchet had become used to any time he saw an examination table. That was somewhat comforting, but not much.

Nichole took off her gloves, placed them on her desk, stood and walked to the table. Moving next to the far corner, presumably the top of the table based on the somewhat thicker cushions on that end, she activated a control and a white light from beneath the surface began to glow, shining upward through the padding. Also, a small electrostatic cleaning sphere at the edge of the table activated. Nichole put her hand on it and the blue plasma field extended, covering her body. "Get undressed and sit on the table please."

Ratchet sighed deeply. He looked at the force field again, closed his eyes and stood. It would probably be best just to get this over with... Ratchet removed his shirt and tossed it over the back of the chair. He moved toward the table. _ding_

Nichole looked at him, shaking her head. "No, Ratchet," she said firmly. "Strip. All the way. Even the tracer; the med centers are exempt." Noticing the look on Ratchet's face, she explained, "The autoclean and autoclimate systems in regular clothes mess up the scans. Relax. I'm your doctor, remember? Nothing gets out of this office. There are no camera drones here."

Grumbling, Ratchet turned back to the chair and removed his jeans and boots. "The gloves, cap and any underwear too." Nichole called out. Ratchet complied, shaking his head and swearing under his breath. Standing completely naked, Ratchet looked passed Nichole's desk, through the sensory distorting force field, out through the floor to ceiling window overlooking the med center complex. He was grateful for the force field; at least no one would be able to see this. And he was also grateful that Nichole had adjusted the climate controls in her office; the room was mercifully warm.

"Come here and sit on the table," Nichole said. "Don't worry. I'm your doctor, remember? I'm pretty sure I know what's there."

Ratchet turned and walked quickly over to the examination table. He sat on the transparent cushions; they were a little uncomfortable - they were made of a form of inflated plastic, easy to clean but not very welcoming. There was a narrow space between the cushions running in a straight line along the length of the table down the center, forming a thin groove. Looking through the cushions and the groove, he saw that beneath them was a heavy sheet of glass. Below that was a sensor array, along with the illumination grid and a metallic bar running across width of the table parallel to its surface. It appeared to be on some kind of track that ran from the top of the table to the bottom. The bar had an opening in the top of it, pointing upward.

Ratchet was not comfortable with the device, or anything else for that matter, and it must have been obvious on his face. "What is it with you and medical exams?" Nichole asked.

Ratchet chuckled grimly. "Have ya ever passed out after a gladiator match 'n woke up t' see Big Al hoverin' over ya, pumpin' nanotech into ev'ry opening in your armor?"

Nichole shuddered. "No, I can't say that I have." Ratchet nodded smugly. "I understand," she said. "Don't worry, though. I'm not Big Al..."

Nichole began to carefully examine Ratchet from ears to tail, thoroughly going over ever square centicubit of his body. All the while, she kept up a light toned banter, both from a conversational perspective but also to help her patient relax and distract him from the examination.

"Are you sure you don't want me to take a still image while you're here," she said as she looked inside Ratchet's ears and eyes with an illuminated magnifier. "You can frame it and give it to Talwyn for your anniversary next month..."

Ratchet chuckled. "You've got yer father's sense o' humor," he laughed.

Nichole smiled, examining the fur, skin and muscles of his neck, face and head. "I get that a lot. Nicholas too. We used to play tricks on each other all the time as kits."

"Hesh reallthy pwoud ov you, ya know." Ratchet said, his words somewhat distorted as Nichole gently opened his muzzle, examining his mouth and nose.

Nichole nodded. "I know," she said as she started looking at his hands, arms, chest and stomach, peering under the fur, examining the muscles and the bones beneath, tracing the line of his ribs, bending his arms and examining his joints. "We've both come a long way since we were kits. We may look alike, but we're really different from each other, hold your arms above your head for a second... thanks. We get along very well. Even when he's halfway across the galaxy, we're still really close. But we still tease each other all the time. Dad too."

She hooked her foot around a very low stool and pulled it under her with a well practiced movement. She sat low to the ground, looked up at Ratchet and said in a quiet voice, "Don't tell Nicholas..." Nichole started examining Ratchet's legs, starting from the feet and toes, working her way up his body in a similar manner, probing under the fur, feeling his muscles and bones, flexing his leg while feeling his knee, etc. "...But I'm really proud of him too. He may seem lazy and casual sometimes, but that's just because he knows what he's doing and makes it look really easy." She paused for a moment at Ratchet's right thigh, reexamining it a second time, but her banter did not indicate any concern. "He made it to lead engineer on an LDM flagship! You really need to know what you're doing to get that far. And he's got his own team of engineers working for him. But we're all still trying to get him to settle down and get bonded. It drives him nuts, but it's a lot of fun."

She paused for a moment, moving her stool about a cubit away from the table. "Could you stand up for a second?" Ratchet did so, but was a little uncomfortable to find that she was sitting eye level with his reproductive organs. "I know this may be awkward for you," she said, "but its routine. We're both bonded. Try to relax; this will only take a few moments."

Ratchet averted his eyes as she gently examined him. He was waiting for her to make a joke but she merely continued talking, "One of these days, Nicholas is going to surprise us all and out of the black announce that he's bonded. It happens that way sometimes; you just meet the right person and you know. Like I told you before, if Rich and I weren't bonded... turn around please..." Ratchet complied and she continued her examination, "Thanks. If Rich and I weren't bonded, I might have tried for you myself." She moved on to examine Ratchet's tail, starting at the base where it joined his spine, lifting it and checking underneath, probing the fur and feeling the muscle and flexible cartilage along its length. "But when they brought Rich in the night you came back, I took one look at him and knew we would be bonded some day. Just like that." Nichole continued to examine Ratchet's tail, moving downward toward the tuft. She laughed, "After he woke up, I think the same thought struck him. Rich and I decided to wait a little while before having kits, though; at least until our careers settled a bit." Nichole had Ratchet's tail tuft in her hands and she looked up at the back of Ratchet's head as she added, "That's the only reason I'm not in the same shape as Melody... Especially after Saphria." She let go of Ratchet's tail tuft, stood and said, "Could you sit down on the table again?"

Ratchet sat on the examination table. For the most part, he had barely noticed the rather careful and detailed examination he had just received. He looked into Nichole's forest green eyes and grinned at her slightly.

"I'm going to have to ask you a few questions -" Nichole started to say, but was interrupted by Ratchet.

"If this is about insurance," Ratchet joked, "I'm not covered. Fer some reason, no one'll gimme a policy."

Nichole laughed. "No, nothing like that... It's just that some of them might seem a bit personal." She looked at Ratchet's right thigh and traced her finger along it for a length of about seven centicubits. "What happened here?"

Ratchet grinned at the memory. "I fell out of a thorntree as a kit."

Nichole laughed, hard. "You know," she said, gasping for air, "it really makes me feel good that, even in Solana, every lombax has a 'thorntree as a kit' story..." Her laughter faded and she looked into his eyes. "That one was serious, you know. You probably tore your femoral artery. What happened next?"

"Well," Ratchet said, thinking back, "my parents used Zany Stik t' fix the gash 'n pumped me full o' nanotech."

Nichole's ears drooped and her eyes darkened a bit. "Chemical fuser?" she grumbled. She shook her head and with a sigh said, "I swear, sometimes it's amazing that kits survive to adulthood..."

Ratchet was a little surprised by that. "Why?" he asked. "What would you have done?"

"I would have used TissueKnit to close the wound, given you a nanotech infusion and possibly a round of antimicrobials as a precaution."

"TissueKnit?" Ratchet grinned. He was somewhat familiar with the substance from the portable med kit in Talwyn's shuttle. "That's glue, isn't it?"

Nichole glared at him for a moment, saw his grin and started chuckling. "Nevermind..." she said. Then she pointed to a small swirl in the fur on his abdomen. "What about here?"

"That's where Talwyn stabbed me," he said. "From when we had our bonding talk."

Nichole smiled. She had heard the story, of course. "That might have hit your liver," she said, "but the nanotech would have fixed that." Nichole stared into his eyes to watch his reaction and bluntly asked "Have you and Talwyn ever had any problems mating?"

"No," he blurted out without any hesitation. Ratchet was a little surprised by the question. He still was not used to how openly lombaxes discussed certain matters.

"Good," Nichole answered. "I had to ask and I needed to see how you reacted. It's something that a lot of males won't talk about or they'll try to dodge the question, but it's really important. Especially since the two of you are different species; sometimes there can be complications." She looked into his eyes. "Seriously, if you do have problems, you need to let me know. There's nothing to be embarrassed about. Okay?"

"Okay," Ratchet answered, a little relieved knowing the reason behind the question.

"What did you do to your right hand?" she asked. "It felt a bit inflamed. Doesn't it hurt?"

"A little, but it's too not bad," Ratchet answered. "I've done lots worse. As t' how, uh..." He grew quiet. Ratchet couldn't stop thinking about Reg last night; telling them about Petrov's reaction when he learned Cynthia was missing.

"What did I just say?" Nichole asked, seeing Ratchet's reluctance. "There is nothing you can tell me that I haven't heard before, believe me. And it won't leave this room."

"I punched the window in your waiting room when I found out what GBD was."

Nichole blinked. "Uh... Ohhhkaay..."

"You gotta realize," Ratchet said, trying to defend himself, "my parents died o' GBD, 'n I didn't know it was treatable."

"There's no need to explain, Ratchet," she said gently. "You don't have to." Nichole paused. "But if it makes you feel any better, I understand." She looked into Ratchet's eyes and smiled. "Just try not to do anything that stupid again, okay?"

Ratchet chuckled. "Okay. I'll try."

"Are there any other problems you might be having?" she asked, briefly touching on some of the more common symptoms in a lombax: "Any changes in your fur? Tail problems? Dry nose? Trouble sleeping? Changes in appetite? Moving wastes? Headaches? Dizziness? Soreness?"

"Well, sometimes I'm a little achy after a fitness course, but that's about it," he admitted. "No big deal, though."

"I've heard about your fitness courses," Nichole answered, shaking her head. "I'm not surprised. If it really starts to bother you, take a hot hydroshower afterward and cut back on the insanity level for a few days. If it still won't go away, see me. Anything else?"

Ratchet shook his head.

"Your actually pretty healthy," Nichole began, putting her hand on the electrostatic cleaner again. "Better than I expected. You're starting to get a little grey, though."

Ratchet glared at her and growled slightly.

"Oh, stop it!" she chided. "It's normal." _ding_

"Okay. I want you to lie back on the table, tail in the groove, arms at your sides. I'm going to do a full body scan on you." Nichole stepped away from the table as Ratchet laid down on it. "I want you to stay as still as you possibly can. I'd neuralock you, but that messes with the results. Are you ready?"

Ratchet nodded, a little nervous. He stared up at the plain white ceiling and illumination systems; at least there were no metal or electronic probes hanging above him.

"Now, close your eyes and hold still."

Ratchet did so. The metal bar that Ratchet had noted earlier began to hum and emit a thin curtain of crimson energy from the opening along its top, through the cushions and rising to a full cubit above the table. The bar slowly travelled along the track in the side of the table, moving downward from the tips of Ratchet's ears to bottom of his feet. Ratchet did not feel it as the sheet of energy slowly passed through the length of his body. When the bar reached the end of the track beneath his feet, the humming stopped, the energy sheet dissipated and the bar quickly moved along the track returning to its original position.

"All done," Nichole said.

Ratchet opened his eyes and sat up. "That's it?" he asked.

"Yup," Nichole said. "The scan is the easy part. Interpreting the results is where it gets more interesting." She started walking to her desk. "You can get dressed while I go over the results," she said. Then, turning back to Ratchet and giving him a rather suggestive look muttering, "Or you can 'go native' for a while if you want."

Ratchet shook his head, sighed, hopped off the table, followed her back to the chair in front of her desk and began to dress.

"When you're done," she said as she sat at her desk, "pull the chair over and I'll give you the fifty bolt tour." Nichole looked at the examining table. "Did you want to use the cleaner?" she asked.

Ratchet shook his head no. To him, there seemed no need to.

"Okay," she said. Nichole's eyes unfocused briefly and the examination table vanished. "Some people get really sensitive about a physical exam and have to use the cleaner afterward. It's just psychological."

"After all I've been through," Ratchet said, "this was harmless." He finished dressing and looked into Nichole's forest green eyes. "Thanks. I know I shoulda been here sooner, but..."

"I know," Nichole laughed, pulling her gloves back on. "You were expecting serrated blades, cold metal probes, electric shocks and sharp claws."

"You forgot the restraining straps," Ratchet laughed. "Seriously though, thanks. You do great work."

Nichole's eyes lightened a bit as a bit of sun started shining through those forest leaves. "You're welcome," she said. "Pull up the chair and let me introduce you to... you!"

The space above her desk changed. A three dimensional holographic projection of Ratchet's body was lying across her desk, scaled down slightly so that it fit. Ratchet pulled the chair behind the desk and sat down next to her, fascinated. The simulation was a significantly higher quality and resolution than anything he had ever seen before.

"The table took a detailed scan of you. This is just the beginning." Using her neural matrix, Nichole manipulated the projection. "First let's shave off all your fur." Ratchet watched as the fur on the projection vanished. The result was both familiar and strange to Ratchet at the same time. The pigment in his exposed skin showed where his stripes should be, but his skin looked as smooth as Talwyn's. "As you can see, you probably shouldn't let Talwyn anywhere near you with trimmers," Nichole joked. Ratchet chuckled in response. Nichole zoomed in on various spots. "There's a lot of surface scarring. Most of this is from nanotech healed wounds. It's all harmless. There's a lot of it though, much more than any other lombax I've ever examined, but given your history I guess it makes sense."

"Now we go a little deeper." The skin vanished and Ratchet's muscular system was exposed. Ratchet looked on, his eyes fixed on the display, his jaw slightly open. Nichole looked at him and chuckled slightly. "Your muscles, of course." Nichole studied the image and zoomed in on Ratchet's right elbow. Even Ratchet could see that it looked... different. "Did you tear your elbow at some point?"

"Not that I know of," Ratchet answered.

"Well, you did," Nichole said. "Nanotech healed it. It looks okay, so it couldn't have been too bad."

The muscular system vanished and Ratchet stared at his skeleton. Nichole gasped slightly and zoomed around the image very quickly. Ratchet was getting dizzy with the rapid movement and had to look away. "Do you realize," Nichole said, "that you have managed to break every rib in your body at least once?"

"I kinda thought so," Ratchet chuckled, "but I wasn't keepin' score."

Nichole shook her head, zooming in on Ratchet's right arm and carefully staring at it. "I think you broke your radius when you tore the muscle," she said. "Nanotech healed it, but it's not really set straight. Hmmm..." She looked at Ratchet. "Does your right arm ever bother you?" she asked. Ratchet shook his head. "Okay," Nichole said, her eyes going back to the projection. "If it ever does, I can reset it properly." She zoomed in on Ratchet's right hand. "The good news is that you didn't break your hand."

Ratchet chuckled. "That's nice."

"The bad news is that it's still gonna hurt for a while. If it bothers you, use cold water or ice to bring down the inflammation. Maybe a low dose pain blocker, but I have a feeling you wouldn't take it even if I told you to..."

Ratchet smiled at her and she knew she was correct.

After a quick look at Ratchet's skull and Nichole's joke about Ratchet having a hard head, the skeleton vanished, replaced by Ratchet's internal organs. Nichole zoomed in on each one of them in turn, explaining what it was and what it did. Ratchet was fascinated. He was very comfortable dealing with thrusters, rockets and most mechanical systems. He was also very familiar with robotics having spent a lot of time maintaining Clank, Cronk and Zephyr; and had also seen the interior of IRIS. But the more Ratchet saw in Nichole's projection, the more similar organic and robotic life seemed to him. Sure, the components were different, but there was a certain grace and elegance to the intertwined mechanisms that made the whole thing work.

"...And on the liver, this is the scar where Talwyn stabbed you." Nichole's voice broke through his musing. Nichole stopped and looked into Ratchet's smiling face. "It's amazing, isn't it," Nichole said in a very quiet voice.

"Yeah," Ratchet said.

"That's how I first got into medicine," she said. "Doc T used to do our checkups. He'd let me page through our scans for hours, explaining what everything was. I was only six at the time, but I was hooked."

"It's amazing," Ratchet said. "And kinda familiar. I fix all kinds o' stuff. It's not all that different, really."

"No, it isn't. Carbon or silicon, protein or metal, it's all the same in a lot of ways. We still don't know how sentience plays into any of this, though. There's no single spot, component or organ that is involved. But it's there... Somewhere..."

The view shifted, and Ratchet's nervous system and brain was displayed with his peripheral nerves visible as a glowing threads. "As you can see, everything is working. If I neuralocked you, everything from the neck down would be dark except for the spinal cord and nerves going to involuntary muscles." She zoomed in on Ratchet's brain. Ratchet expected her to make a joke, but she suddenly became very serious. After a few moments she looked at him relieved. "I was checking for any damage or scarring from the prototype dimensionator. You will be happy to know that there was no permanent damage."

"Good!" Ratchet said, relieved. He had not thought about it, and it had been a while, but the memory of the pain he suffered while using the dimensionator still made his fur bristle.

Nichole paged through a few more displays; Ratchet's cardiovascular system with Nichole commenting on how well conditioned he was, his endocrine system, immune system, lymphatic and finally came to a map that Ratchet did not recognize. It was merely an outline of his body filled with various shades of green. He looked at Nichole questioningly.

"This is a genetic variance map," she explained. "It's how we check for GBD. The green means that your cells are all mapped properly without significant mutation. If you had GBD, you would see red or yellow splotches indicating rogues."

Ratchet nodded. "So your dad's..."

Nichole shook her head. "As your doctor, I cannot show you another patient's scans without their permission," she said. "Suffice it to say that you do not have GBD." She paused for a moment, looked at Ratchet and quietly said, "As your sister, dad's scans are clear now."

Ratchet nodded. That was the only thing that mattered. "Thanks... uh, 'sis'," he replied. Even after two years, it still felt a little strange having family again.

She smiled at him. "As you can see," Nichole said in her normal voice, "everything is pretty much where it should be. Again, considering all... Hmm..."

"What?" Ratchet asked, a little surprised by her pause.

"You're nanotech level is pretty high. See this indicator?" She pointed to a small graph among a series of metabolic indicators. It was in the upper section of the yellow area, near a red line.

"Is that bad?" Ratchet asked.

"Not really," Nichole said. "But it does mean that you've been living off nanotech a little too much for a little too long. We really don't like to see this get too high. When people rely on 'instant healing' for long term, sometimes their own regenerative systems start to atrophy and they become dependent on it. There's no sign of that here, but cut back on the nanotech for a while anyway, okay?"

Ratchet nodded. Then he grinned, "But what do I do if Talwyn stabs me again?"

Nichole shut down the projection, turned to face Ratchet, looked deep into his eyes and said, "Bleed."

Ratchet laughed. "Is this a normal exam?"

"Not really," Nichole admitted. "Because this was your first exam with me, and the first one you've had in a very long time, I wanted to be thorough. For a routine checkup, I usually just do a scan unless I spot something specific."

Ratchet sighed, relaxing visibly.

Nichole smiled at him and there was a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. "Besides, it's a lot more fun this way."

Ratchet gave her a look.

"You're all done," Nichole said. Then she opened a drawer in her desk and retrieved a small object. "Here," she said, tossing it to Ratchet.

Ratchet caught it automatically and looked at it. It was an individually wrapped hard candy. He looked at Nichole with a puzzled expression on his face.

"That's for being such a good little boy," she chuckled.

Ratchet growled at her.

She merely laughed in response. Her eyes unfocused briefly and a grin spilt her muzzle. "As long as you're here," she said, "why don't we go see dad? He's awake. Nick and Gran Zeke are with him now."

* * * * *

Nichole led Ratchet through a series of corridors, down a gravramp and onto the patient floor of the facility. Most of the rooms were empty, their doors open and the equipment idle. They walked down the corridor until they came to the corner room at the end. The rising sun shone through the frosted glass wall of the room, the opaque material bright with the pink and orange fire of dawn. Ratchet checked his nav unit briefly; Petrov's room was on the western corner of the building. If his room was anything like Nichole's office, it would have floor to ceiling windows, allowing the sunrise to brighten it.

Nichole knocked once and then opened the door. The sunlight was just starting to peek into the room from the windows facing the western horizon. Directly in the line of sight from the doorway there was an overstuffed couch that looked to be in significantly better condition than the one next to Nichole's office and two padded chairs.

Zeke Wavelength, Cynthia's father, was a former member of the Lombax Central Council. His reputation as a skilled adventurer brought him a combination of fame and admiration throughout the Polaris galaxy. Zeke spent part of his time as an instructor for the Academy, teaching his skills in planetary exploration to new generations of lombaxes, including Reg, Petrov, Melody and Cynthia. It was this reputation, sadly, that got him into trouble, and he was drafted to the council soon after the Flight. He had served there for multiple terms before his latest parole nearly two years ago, his vacancy filled by Ratchet.

At the moment, however, the significantly white, silver and grey furred lombax was curled up on the couch, fast asleep. Ratchet and Nichole could hear his slightly congested snore from the doorway. Nicholas lounged in the two chairs, leaning back in one with his arm across the back while his feet were propped up on the seat cushion of the other. Nick looked up at them and smiled. "Sssssh," he hissed, making no attempt to keep his voice low, "Justin wore 'm out."

"Is that Nichole?" Petrov's voice sounded a lot stronger than the last time Ratchet had heard it. It seemed so long ago, but it was not even a full day really. Ratchet grinned hearing it and he and Nichole walked into the patient room.

Aside from the couch and chairs, there was a low bed that Ratchet immediately recognized as an examination table, but it was larger and had somewhat softer looking cushions. Next to the bed was a transdermal infuser, a specialized pump designed to deliver medication to a patient in carefully controlled quantities. Four small cylinders approximately six centicubits long by three centicubits in diameter each were levitated, inverted, above the infuser. From their openings, clear flexible tubing ran to a mixing chamber, where precise quantities of a clear fluid, a slightly greenish tinted fluid, a glowing blue fluid that Ratchet immediately recognized as a concentrated nanotech solution and an electric blue liquid blended and merged into a single opaque tube. This final tube ran to a weblike elastic cuff. Ratchet knew that the inside surface of the cuff would be covered with a series of flat receptors, where the combined medication would be absorbed through the skin of the patient.

The patient was lying on the bed, covered by a rather thin white sheet. Ratchet looked very closely at Petrov; he certainly seemed a lot better. His fur appeared to be a little shinier; Ratchet, having been around Petrov a lot had not noticed his fur getting dull, but seeing him here, Ratchet realized that it must have been slowly changing over the last few months. Petrov also seemed a bit stronger; he was not having any difficulty catching his breath and he was not coughing. The look in his face and eyes was also very comforting; the strangely haunted look that he had noticed during the fitness course was gone and Petrov's eyes were wide and bright.

His eyes were also the color of a blue ocean during a storm, tinged with grey. Petrov apparently was _not_ in a good mood.

"Ratchet," he said, nodding in greeting to the lombax. Then he looked at his daughter. "Nichole, I want my clothes back!"

"Hi dad," Nichole said cheerfully, ignoring her father's request. She went over to him, kissed him on the side of the muzzle and checked the tanks above the infuser and the cuff around Petrov's arm. "How do you feel this morning?"

"How do you think I feel?" Petrov asked, his voice rather loud, sarcastic and angry. "I'm cold, I'm hungry, I'm naked, I ache all over 'n I've got this... thing," indicting the infuser with a harsh gesture, "tied t' me. What's not t' like?"

Ratchet's eyes were drawn to Petrov's arm. The fur around his upper arm had been shaved in a wide band, somewhat wider than necessary, for the cuff. Ratchet could see the general's stripe patterns in the pigmentation on his skin.

Petrov noticed his gaze. "Do you believe that, Ratchet?" he said harshly. "Eight years at The Institute, seven years in practice and she's _still_ trimmer happy!"

"Dad," Nichole said in a soothing, professional voice, "you know that the infuser needs to make contact with the skin -"

"Yeah, but did ya hafta take so much?" Petrov asked, indignant. "It takes weeks t' grow back right."

"Actually," Ratchet said, trying to defend Nichole, "Nichole just gave me my first physical. She's definitely got yer sense o' humor."

Petrov's eyes swung to Ratchet. As he watched, they softened slightly, losing some of the grey and becoming more concerned than angry. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah," Ratchet said, nodding. "I'm fine."

"It was just routine, dad," Nichole said.

"If you call _that_ routine," Ratchet chuckled.

"Good," Petrov said, relaxing back into the cushions a little.

Ratchet absent-mindedly unwrapped the hard candy that was still in his right hand. He popped it into his mouth and began glancing around the room looking for a disposal for the wrapper. The candy was rather tasty, but a little sweet for this early in the morning.

The crinkle of the wrapper got Petrov's attention. He sat up again and looked at Nick. "Ya said ya made dinner fer everyone," Petrov began. "Did ya bring any leftovers? I'm starved!"

Nicholas shook his head slightly. "Sorry, dad," he said. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his photon beam generator, adjusted it for coherent stream and pointed it at the cylinder with the slightly greenish fluid. "You already ate."

"You call that a meal?" Petrov said, his voice rising yet again and his eyes getting a little greyer. "That is just soooo wrong." Petrov's eyes swung to Ratchet. "D' ya have any more o' those?" he asked.

Ratchet wasn't sure what Petrov meant for a second, then he realized. "Oh, the candy?" Petrov nodded. "Sorry. I just had one; Nichole gave it t' me upstairs fer bein' a good patient."

Ratchet must have said something that Petrov and the twins had discussed at some other time. The twins started chuckling. It did not improve Petrov's mood at all. His eyes narrowed slightly. "At least order somethin' from Jacek's. He prob'bly open by now. 'n if not, he should be."

Ratchet glanced at Nichole. She shook her head slightly 'no'. "Sorry, Petrov," he began, knowing that his answer would not be welcome, "I can't. Doctor's orders..."

Petrov's eyes got even greyer and he growled at Ratchet, "Fine." Looking from Ratchet to Nichole to Nicholas, Petrov shook his head angrily. "I'll do it myself." Petrov sat up in bed and pulled the sheet off to stand. The general suddenly remembered that he was naked, pulled the sheet back over himself and sat back in bed. He glared at his daughter. "Nichole. Clothes. _NOW!_"

Nichole glanced briefly at the infuser. Petrov's own eyes suddenly drifted closed, his body relaxed and the general dropped back to the cushions, sound asleep.

Nichole went to the bed and adjusted her father's position slightly so that he would be comfortable. She retrieved a heavily insulated blanked from her manifestor and gently placed it over him, tucking in the corners under Petrov's sleeping body. She kissed him on the side of the muzzle again and said "G'night dad."

Ratchet looked at her carefully. "What just happened?"

Nichole grinned slightly. "It's just the standard GBD mix of nanotech, nutrients and antimicrobials. But knowing dad I hooked up a sedative, just in case. It's the same active ingredients that the LDM uses for their sleep gas, but more refined. No side effects."

"Are you sure he's alright?" Ratchet asked, concerned. "He seems kinda... crankier than normal."

Nicholas and Nichole both started laughing.

"He's in quite a bit of pain from the surgery," Nichole explained, "and from the tissue regeneration. 3.1% is a lot of body mass to suddenly go missing. Plus, he's hungry. He's not supposed to have regular food for at least twelve hours to give his system a chance to readjust. I'll keep him out for the worst of it; at least until he can eat again. He'll be fine, and he'll feel a lot better once he's been fed." Nichole looked at Ratchet and chuckled. "That's right," she said, grinning, "you've never seen him sick before."

Petrov started snoring on the examination bed. Loud.

"He's normal," Nick said, his bright eyes a light green. "Trust me."

Ratchet looked at Petrov, snoring peacefully in the bed and then his eyes went over to Zeke on the couch. "Ya know," he said, "Talwyn's right. Lombaxes _are_ kinda cute when they're asleep." Then a strange thought hit Ratchet. He put his gloved hand on his chin for a moment, pulled it down and faced Nichole. "Wait a second... When I was captured, Petrov said he was used t' that gas..."

Nichole and Nicholas both burst out laughing again. Nick looked Ratchet in the eyes and with a smile on his muzzle muttered, "He lied."

Ratchet thought back to that first encounter. Now that he knew Petrov, Ratchet realized that the one time Regional Minister had been bluffing all along. It made perfect sense. Ratchet started chuckling himself. Shaking his head back and forth slightly, Ratchet muttered, "Figures..."

Nick's eyes widened briefly and then narrowed. They had a strange, wicked gleam in them. With his muzzle split into a slightly playful smile, he said, "Hey sis?" Nichole turned toward him. Nick nodded at his father, lying asleep in the bed. He pulled a perma-ink stylus from his pocket and held it up for his sister to see. "Got trimmers?"

Nichole's eyes drifted lighter to match the same shade as Nick's and took on a twinkling of their own. She grinned the exact same playful smile and nodded.

Ratchet looked back and forth between the twins. "That's just mean," he said.

Nicholas, sitting up in the chair, looked at him. "So?"

[end.]


End file.
